Formula 1 has been rocked by bonkers rumours former world champion Fernando Alonso will replace struggling driver Sergio Perez at Red Bull.
In 24 hours of chaos, the motorsport world has lost its collective mind over contrasting reports Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo are both set to steal Perez’s seat as Max Verstappen’s teammate in 2024.
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The speculation about Ricciardo’s push for the No. 2 Red Bull seat ramped up dramatically on Monday after the Aussie produced his best performance of the season at the Mexico Grand Prix.
His masterclass weekend was a hammer blow for Perez, who finished behind Ricciardo in qualifying and crashed out of the race at Turn 1.
However, that speculation was blown out of the water as fans and commentators turned their attention to a suggestion it will be Alonso who gets the job.
The scandal began with a suggestion from leading Formula 1 commentator Albert Fabrega that he had heard a troubling rumour.
“I don’t want to believe the rumour that they have told me now in the paddock. No,” he posted for his 400,000 followers on Twitter.
From there rumours quickly spread about Alonso, who had earlier been linked with retirement following an abysmal running at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City.
With the sport in meltdown, Fabrega moved to clarify his comment.
“I’m just going to say one thing about the rumour that I told you yesterday. From the tone of the text it is understood that I would not like it to happen,” he wrote on Twitter.
“From here, you can speculate as much as you/we want. And I hope it remains a rumour and not news. End of thread.”
Formula 1 presenter Will Buxton responded to the comment with a “bomb exploding” meme.
Formula 1 correspondent Daniel Moxton, however, was among a group of reporters to dismiss the suggestions about Perez’s imminent departure from Red Bull.
“Been a couple of irresponsible tweets that have set off some #F1 rumours today,” Moxton wrote on Twitter.
“To be clear – Sergio Perez is not retiring, nor are Red Bull replacing him with Fernando Alonso.
“My understanding is Perez is not currently planning to retire or leave RB, and that RB don’t plan to bring in Alonso.
“As for where they (rumours) started, it seems many different rumours have gained traction since a certain big ‘paddock secret’ was teased and people just ran with it.”
He wrote Ricciardo is still the leading contender to replace perez — if Red Bull decides to pull the trigger.
“It’s all down to how Perez performs,” he responded to one Twitter user.
“Current situation is team wants him to stay and rediscover his best form, but if he can’t do that then I don’t expect RB to hesitate to replace him mid-season if they feel it’s necessary. In that scenario, DR is almost certainly first choice.”
Ricciardo earned massive praise for his highly successful “job interview” at the Mexico Grand Prix.
Following P4 in qualifying, Ricciardo guided his AlphaTauri home in seventh and Red Bull team principal Christian Horner could not have been happier.
“You couldn’t fail to be impressed by Daniel this weekend,” Horner said on Sky Sports after the race.
“I mean his qualifying was outstanding yesterday and he showed his maturity and experience and pace in the race.
“I think that fighting a Mercedes in an AlphaTauri for their best result of the year was a great performance.
“Had it not been for the red flag, he might’ve finished even further up.
“He can take a lot of confidence, coming back from injury, he’s had a rough time over the last couple of months having to sit on the sidelines.
“But that’s the Daniel we’re used to seeing.”
While Ricciardo reminded everyone of his abilities in AlphaTauri’s best result of the season, Perez continues to struggle.
The Mexican opened the year with wins in two of the first four races to throw a challenge down to teammate Max Verstappen.
But as the Dutchman soared away to another championship victory, Perez has been going in the other direction and quickly.
Red Bull are desperate for a one-two finish in the driver’s championship, but Perez’s failure to finish in Mexico allowed Lewis Hamilton to close to within 20 points with three races left.
The man known as “Checo” is contracted through the end of 2024.
“As we see in sport, confidence is such a thing. His confidence is coming up,” Horner said of Ricciardo.
“Checo, we just need him to have a confidence-boosting result, and he could’ve had it today but it wasn’t to be.
“But no, great to see Daniel looking like his old self.”
They all only have to wait one week for another chance to impress, with the Brazilian Grand Prix getting underway next weekend in Sao Paulo.
