F1 News: Toto Wolff Fuels Sergio Perez Red Bull Exit Rumours
Mercedes CEO Toto Wolff has spoken out on Nyck de Vries' shocking exit from AlphaTauri, fuelling rumours of Sergio Perez's Red Bull seat being up for grabs in the near future.
De Vries, who was previously a Mercedes reserve driver and Mercedes Formula E champion, lost his seat with AlphaTauri after just ten races of his rookie season and was replaced by Daniel Ricciardo with immediate effect.
The abrupt move led many to believe the Australian driver was there to add pressure onto Sergio Perez who is trailing behind his teammate Max Verstappen and to also prepare Ricciardo for 2024 should Perez not find significant improvements.
Perez's contract is currently due to expire at the end of 2024, however, despite Red Bull team chief Christian Horner saying that he is safe, many believe he could lose his spot on the team early, especially if he does not finish second in the drivers' standings.
During an interview with Sky F1, Wolff spoke about de Vries' exit. He claimed that the Dutch driver probably just needed some more time and could have been a great option for Red Bull in the future. He explained:
“Maybe he needed more time. If he had been given the season, who knows?
“Maybe he would have been a really good candidate for the Red Bull seat too.”
The Mercedes chief went on to fuel rumours of Perez losing his seat, claiming that he believes that de Vries was an unfortunate victim of Perez's poor performances. Removing de Vries from the team will give them an opportunity to assess Ricciardo as a possible replacement for the Mexican driver.
Wolff continued:
“They wanted, I think, to do some benchmarking with [Daniel] Ricciardo to see if Daniel might be able to take Checo’s [Sergio Perez] seat.
“And once you’ve made that decision, then of course you’ll fall through the cracks.”