F1 News: Red Bull Is "Looking For Very Strong Second Driver" According To Insider

Tom Coronel has fired a warning to Sergio Perez over his Red Bull contract.

Dutch racing driver Tom Coronel has fired a warning to Sergio Perez over his seat with Red Bull, claiming that it's "very clear" what is going to happen to the Mexican driver. 

Perez has been under pressure this season after struggling to keep up with his teammate and championship leader Max Verstappen in the dominant RB19. Despite the Mexican driver being in contract with the Austrian team until the end of 2024, many are of the opinion that he could lose his seat at the end of the 2023 season.

The return of Daniel Ricciardo to AlphaTauri only fuelled these rumours further leading many to question whether the Australian driver's abrupt replacement of Nyck de Vries was to demonstrate how cut-throat Red Bull are prepared to be as well as get Ricciardo ready to step up in 2024.

Coronel agrees that Perez is likely to lose his seat at the end of this season, claiming that a contract in Formula One is "toilet paper".

 During a recent interview with RacingNews365.com, Coronel explained:

“In the whole of Formula 1, a contract is toilet paper.

“The most money is made the moment contracts are dissolved; you’ve seen that before with drivers. ‘Shall we say goodbye now? Okay, so then it will cost 20 million extra, on top of it.' But then you can move on.

“We all know what will happen to Perez. Come on, we know that! It’s very clear. Helmut Marko is just looking for a very strong second driver."

The Dutch racing driver went on to confidently claim that Verstappen's best ever teammate was Ricciardo when the pair raced together from 2016 to 2018. Coronel continued:

“Verstappen’s best team-mate ever? That was [Daniel] Ricciardo. Perez just doesn’t have the consistency. A sub-topper, nothing wrong with that."