Rumours of Red Bull ‘separation agreement’ could play into Daniel Ricciardo’s hands

The Red Bull rumour mill has gone into overdrive with talk of a move that would play right into Daniel Ricciardo’s hands.

Sergio Perez is under pressure at Red Bull.

Daniel Ricciardo may be out of action for the foreseeable future but that hasn’t stopped the Red Bull rumour mill from going into overdrive.

Ricciardo broke his left hand in a crash during practice at last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, ruling him out of the race and leaving his immediate future up in the air.

The 34-year-old had surgery to repair a broken metacarpal in his left hand and won’t race at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, the site of his famous triumph with McLaren two years ago.

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Kiwi youngster Liam Lawson will take Ricciardo’s place at AlphaTauri for the time being, with the Aussie veteran said to be targeting a return as soon as the Singapore Grand Prix in mid-September.

Max Verstappen claimed a record equalling ninth consecutive race win in the Netherlands to extend his lead in the championship to 138 points over teammate Sergio Perez and cruise towards a third world title in a row.

Daniel Ricciardo is out of action with a broken hand. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

The Dutchman is in a class of his own right now and his dominance over Perez has fuelled speculation his teammate could be out the door soon.

Perez is contracted to the end of next year, and while Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says Perez “will be our driver in 2024”, team supremo Helmut Marko says “nothing is 100 per cent certain in Formula 1” and there are “always performance-related situations somewhere that need to be discussed”.

Perez finished fourth in the Netherlands and has looked a shadow of the driver than won races in Saudi Arabia and in Azerbaijan at the start of the season.

Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher, brother of seven-time world champion Michael, believes Perez’s “days at Red Bull are numbered” and a “separation agreement” is in place that could see Perez depart the team early.

“Sergio Perez once again made a mistake when he drove into the barriers at the entrance to the pits and this action also resulted in a penalty that cost him second place in the end,” the six-time grand prix winner wrote in his post-race Sky Deutschland column.

“I think his days at Red Bull are numbered.

Is a Ricciardo Red Bull return on the cards? (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images)

Sergio Perez is under pressure at Red Bull. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

“Dr. Helmut Marko is not exactly known for his warm-hearted way of dealing with Perez. I think that Perez as a guy can’t deal with that so well, that’s how I explain these serious mistakes.

“Perez looked very grumpy, disappointed, and also absent all weekend. I think that there were already agreements about a separation after the end of the season.”

While Horner has already hinted Ricciardo could take over from Perez, Schumacher believes Lando Norris could even make the switch from McLaren to join Verstappen at Red Bull.

“I could imagine Lando Norris becoming Verstappen’s new teammate sooner. The two seem to be good friends,” he said.

“I assume that Verstappen will ultimately decide who will be his teammate. This is nothing unusual. That was already the case with Senna, my brother also had this right.

“When a driver like Verstappen contributes so much to the team’s success, I also think it’s good that you have your back as free as possible.”

The F1 season continues at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday at 11pm AEST.