Formula 1: Ranking Red Bull’s Best Options to Partner Max Verstappen

The F1 season started well for Sergio Perez but the wheels have come off recently.

The Mexican driver intended on making 2023 the year where he finally mounted a title challenge against teammate, Max Verstappen, and as the pair took two wins apiece from the opening four rounds, it seemed a battle was brewing.

Having been as close as six points to Verstappen, Perez is now without a Q3 appearance or podium in the last three rounds and a huge 69 points adrift of his teammate at the top of the standings.

Perez has showcased the best and worst of his range this season, and as reported by Sports Illustrated, Red Bull potentially have a big decision to make on whether they can continue to trust him in the second RB19 car.

Sports Brief takes a look at potential drivers who could replace Perez as Verstappen’s teammate:

Alex Albon

Former Red Bull driver, Alex Albon, may get the weakest of shouts given he had been a driver with the team before and sadly failed. However, he was far less experienced as a F1 driver in that season-and-a-half stint from 2019/20, and has gone on to firmly turn his career around by leading the Williams team in impressive fashion.

One of his strongest showings yet arrived at the Canadian GP, where the acing of a brief dry-tyre window in Q2 set him up for a P9 start, which he turned into a P7 finish and vital points for Williams after a defensive masterclass.

That got the attention of Red Bull boss, Christian Horner, who revealed he had kept a very close eye on Albon in that race, per Sky F1. Could the Thai driver be on their radar again?

He ranks bottom of this list simply because of his past record of struggling against Verstappen at Red Bull, and as was proven with Pierre Gasly, going away and gaining more F1 experience does not always heal the past wounds.

It is hard to see why Albon would be any different, even with his steller performances, and why he would want to trade in what he has with Williams - a stable home at a team following his lead.

Nico Hulkenberg

After Hulkenberg qualified P3 at the 2020 70th Anniversary GP, during his Racing Point stand-in appearance, PlanetF1 quoted Verstappen as follows:

That did not quite happen, but Hulkenberg did return to the F1 grid full-time for 2023 at Haas and is already making his mark. He would have been on the front row last time out in Canada if it were not for a three-place grid drop incurred for a red flag infringement.

Though race days are proving tricky for the team in general, as they struggle to turn one-lap pace into any form of decent race performance, Hulkenberg is proving he can still get the most out of the Formula 1 car he is given.

Being without an F1 podium, Hulkenberg would surely end his unwanted record-breaking streak in the Red Bull, and be that steady and experienced figure claiming top-three results and a victory here and there if Verstappen is not able to.

The question is whether the Haas driver is really a clear upgrade on Perez, who was renowned as a midfield specialist himself.

Daniel Ricciardo

Like Albon, Ricciardo is familiar with the Red Bull machine, but where he differs from the Thai driver is in the fact that he has a good deal of success with the team to hang his hat on, having claimed seven of his eight F1 wins there.

In his first season with Verstappen's team in 2014, he defeated the reigning four-time World Champion at the time, Sebastian Vettel.

Ricciardo is now back in the fold as Red Bull’s third driver after his nightmare McLaren spell was cut short, and has admitted that a return to the line-up would be the 'fairytale ending' to his F1 career.

It could be argued whether the Australian is an upgrade on Perez, but with the Mexican racer very much out of form, he would surely be a safer option than bringing in the likes of Albon or Hulkenberg.

Yuki Tsunoda

Once upon a time, Red Bull’s second team was the proving ground for their prospects to audition for a chance in the main team, a philosophy they have moved away from since Gasly and Albon failed to impress after that step up.

Red Bull does have another driver at AlphaTauri who is turning heads, that being Yuki Tsunoda, who is now into his third season with the team and is driving with greater maturity.

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The radio outbursts have not completely gone, but he possesses a blend of experience and room for improvement.

If Red Bull did decide it was time for a change, then even though Horner has been cold on the idea that Tsunoda is ready, he really feels like the best and most Red Bull-style option.

Sergio Perez

Perez may well be going through a tough time right now, but he has shown Red Bull what he is capable of this season with a clean and confident weekend. Perhaps he just needs to get his head back in the game.

His three-race run of missing the final stage of qualifying involved a Q1 crash in Monaco and missing the crucial dry-tyre window in Canada, while falling short of the top 10 in Spain.

Perez absolutely needs to snap out of this poor run at the next available opportunity, that being Red Bull’s home race - the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring - to start silencing the doubters again.

The Mexican has shown that when he is in the zone, he is more than capable of giving his team what they need. After all, he was never meant to challenge Verstappen for the title anyway.

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The Brazilian star and several other guests were spotted still on the edge of the main straight when the formation lap in Barcelona got underway.