Christian Horner has moved to play down suggestions Sergio Perez could be replaced at Red Bull as soon as next season.

The Mexican has had a difficult run in recent events, primarily a result of underperforming during qualifying and leaving himself too much to do in the race.

Meanwhile, team-mate Max Verstappen has dominated the sport, winning the last eight races as Red Bull remains undefeated in 2023.

The pressure on Perez has increased with the return to the F1 grid of Daniel Ricciardo at Scuderia AlphaTauri.

The Australian had been third driver at Red Bull, performing simulator duties and taking part in a tyre test following the British Grand Prix.

It was his performance there that convinced Horner and Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko that he was ready for a racing return, taking the place of Nyck de Vries.

Ricciardo is an eight-time race winner, seven of them coming with Red Bull, and has put in a good account of himself since his return to Milton Keynes.

The Australian has made no secret of desiring a return to the senior team, and offers a good yardstick for Yuki Tsunoda as he states his case.

Should Perez continue to falter, logic followed, Ricciardo would either be in a position to replace him or provide a metric to justify Tsunoda’s potential promotion.

“We have a contract,” Horner told Speedcafe of the situation with Perez.

“We’re happy with Checo and he will be our driver next year.

“But for us, it’s always good to have… the whole purpose of AlphaTauri and Toro Rosso before was to be training drivers as potential candidates for Red Bull Racing.

“That’s why, with Nyck, it didn’t feel like he was going to be a Red Bull Racing candidate, so then the argument you put is, does it make sense to keep going?”

Perez signed a two-year contract extension with Red Bull, announced shortly after he won last year’s Monaco Grand Prix. That runs through to the end of next season.

Ricciardo is on loan to Scuderia AlphaTauri for the balance of this year, and that could potentially be extended to 2024 if desired.

Tsunoda is on a rolling one-year deal, with Liam Lawson waiting in the wings.

“I think ’25, it’s just good always to have options,” Horner said.

“I mean, Max is fixed till ’28. Checo’s contract runs the end of next year.

“If he, if Checo delivers, we’ll keep going with Checo. If he doesn’t, for whatever reason, then it’s… but that won’t be just restricted to AlphaTauri drivers, because there’s an awful lot of drivers up and down the pit lane that would like to drive a Red Bull car.

“I don’t see age as a barrier,” he added when asked if Ricciardo would be considered too old in 2025.

“When I see what Fernando Alonso is doing, and Lewis Hamilton. It’s all about what’s up here [in the mind] that counts.”