“He should have stayed with Red Bull longer at the time”: Max Verstappen passes verdict on Daniel Ricciardo’s exit from the team at the end of 2018
Follow Us
Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo
Putting all rumors to rest, Daniel Ricciardo’s place as a reserve driver at Red Bull, with a non-driving role, has been confirmed by the executives of the Austrian team. This means that Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo will be reunited at Red Bull again as the Australian is returning to the team as their ‘third driver’ in 2023. The Dutchman is visibly happy with the return of Ricciardo to Red Bull. However, he believes that Ricciardo shouldn’t have left the team in the first place itself.
Daniel Ricciardo decided to split with Red Bull during the 2018 season. He decided to continue with Renault. The move wasn’t really successful, with Ricciardo racking up two podiums towards the end of the 2020 season. The Honey Badger then moved on to McLaren.
The McLaren move also turned out to be a complete disaster. Daniel Ricciardo was beaten comprehensively by his teammate Lando Norris throughout the two seasons. The only positive point during his stint with McLaren was the victory at Monza. His disappointing Performances meant that McLaren terminated his contract during the end of the 2022 season. For quite some time, Daniel Ricciardo was without a Formula 1 seat for 2023. Finally, it was revealed that he would be returning to Red Bull, as their test and simulator driver. He is also expected to be present during the show runs and other PR activities.
Max Verstappen believes that Daniel Ricciardo had made a wrong decision to leave Red Bull
Max Verstappen is very excited about the return of his old teammate to Red Bull. He spoke to a Formula 1 Magazine and said,”Now that Daniel is becoming our reserve driver, we don’t have to miss his character in Formula 1.” He continued and explained that the fact that Ricciardo does not have a permanent seat on the grid is nothing but a loss for the sport as a whole. However, Max Verstappen explained, “Daniel comes across as good and smiles a lot, but in the end it’s not about the laughs, it’s about the performance.”
Verstappen continued and explained that Daniel has certainly put up amazing performances in the past, however, in Formula 1, a driver is only as good as his last race. If that is the case, then Ricciardo’s stint with Renault and McLaren have not really helped out his image as a top driver.
When asked if Daniel Ricciardo made a wrong choice when he decided to leave Red Bull, Verstappen agreed. He said, “It would have been better for Daniel if he had stayed with Red Bull longer at the time.“
Max Verstappen said that he has spoken with Ricciardo about the same, and apparently Ricciardo was not really feeling up to it at Red Bull at that time and therefore he had needed to move. However, Verstappen also believes that one needs to keep a balance between sporting success and the feel-good factor. And now that Daniel Ricciardo is back to his “home”, it will be seen in the next few months how his career pans out from this point onwards.
Read More: Sebastian Vettel to not appear on F1 TV shows: “I’m not going to be a TV pundit.”
Stay Updated!
Riddhi Mondal
(1821 Articles Published)