Aussie F1 star Daniel Ricciardo cops brutal blow in his bold bid to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull in 2024

Daniel Ricciardo has been given a boost in his bold bid to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull next year.

Christian Horner – Red Bull boss – has said the Mexican will race alongside Max Verstappen as the number two driver.

“I am absolutely confident and clear that Checo (Perez) will be our driver next year,” Horner told motorsport.com.

“Now, if he was injured or something like that, those are circumstances beyond our control. But the clear plan and therefore the clear intention is for him to continue with us.

“We have announced the AlphaTauri drivers, we have our Red Bull Racing drivers.

“This is how we intend to race in 2024.”

Christian Horner – Red Bull boss – says the Mexican (pictured) will race alongside Max Verstappen as number two driver in 2024.

Horner also called constant driver speculation at Red Bull “outside noise”.

Perez is currently second in the F1 drivers’ standings with 258 points, behind Red Bull teammate and reigning champion Verstappen.

The Dutch driver has 524 points and recently won his third consecutive world title.

Horner also dismissed rumors of Ricciardo replacing Perez at Red Bull as simply “outside noise”.

“Sergio has thick skin…many times he got up, brushed himself off and got back up,” he said. “So I hope he does the same thing now.”

It comes as Ricciardo impressed AlphaTauri after being brought in to replace Nyck de Vries earlier this season.

Verstappen also said recently that he would be open to a reunion with Ricciardo.

“It’s not up to me to make those kinds of decisions because I’m focused on my own performance,” he said.

“So if it’s Checo (Perez) next year, then great. I’ve had a great working relationship with him, but I also personally think he’s a great guy.

“And if it’s Daniel…we get along well and have a good time together.”