VERSTAPPEN: “RICCIARDO HAS HAD A ‘DREAM’ F1 CAREER THAT EVERYONE ENVIES”

Max Verstappen described Daniel Ricciardo as a “great guy” following the Singapore GP, as the Australian driver is expected to learn his F1 future soon.

As Daniel Ricciardo prepares to find out whether he will remain in Formula 1 next season, Max Verstappen praised his former teammate. Red Bull is expected to make a decision on whether to retain the 35-year-old Ricciardo for the next season with their sister team RB, and if he will continue partnering with Yuki Tsunoda. Liam Lawson, who filled in for Ricciardo last year when he was sidelined with a broken wrist, is also competing for the seat.

It is understood that Ricciardo has the full support of Red Bull boss Christian Horner. However, the Australian driver has not been able to repay this faith with his performance on the track.

When asked about Ricciardo’s situation, Verstappen gave a cryptic response that sounded like a farewell speech for the eight-time GP winner. Verstappen said:
“Daniel is a great guy. I think he has proven himself to be an excellent Formula 1 driver. He’s my friend. And being in this kind of position is never pleasant. But on the other hand, I don’t think he has anything to feel sorry about for himself.”
“Sometimes, in certain stages of your career, things might not go as you want them to, but even then, you’ve still accomplished more than anyone could ever dream of in life.”

“Let’s say this is your last race or something else, even then, when you look back, you’ll have achieved something that many people won’t be able to, and you’ll move on to something else.”
“So why not? There are plenty of other racing series or maybe he could just relax on the farm a bit. He could have fun.”
“He’s a great guy. So for me, it doesn’t matter whether he deserves to be here or not. A lot of people deserve to be here. Some people don’t deserve to be here. That’s how life works in every sport. That’s just the way things go.”

Meanwhile, Ricciardo said that since returning to F1 with RB after being fired following his disappointing stint at McLaren, he hasn’t been able to show his true potential in races.
Ricciardo said: “I definitely don’t want to just be hanging around. But when I look back at my year, yes, if you had asked me in January how I expected the year to go, I would have hoped for a better outcome.”
“But this is not really due to a lack of effort. I really feel like I’ve given it my all this year. And okay, sometimes the results don’t come as you want or hope, or don’t always reflect the effort you’ve put in. But that’s the nature of the sport.”
“I will always look in the mirror and try to be as critical as I can. I wish I could have been a bit more consistent this year. But honestly, after my McLaren stint, when I returned to the sport, I was more looking for speed, and I wanted to prove to myself that I could still compete with these guys at the front.”
“And there were moments like that. Obviously, I’d love to do that every weekend, but I think it’s also difficult to do that in the midfield battle.”