Max Verstappen open to Red Bull ousting Sergio Perez for Daniel Ricciardo, admits he didn’t want the Australian to leave the team in 2018

Max Verstappen is eager to see Daniel Ricciardo return as his teammate.

Max Verstappen open to Red Bull ousting Sergio Perez for Daniel Ricciardo, admits he didn’t want the Australian to leave the team in 2018

Max Verstappen (image via Flashscore.com), Daniel Ricciardo (image via PlanetF1), Sergio Perez (image via Sports Illustrated)

Daniel Ricciardo is back on the F1 grid, this time with AlphaTauri. The Australian driver replaces Nyck de Vries at the Red Bull sister team after an impressive drive at the Silverstone tire test for Milton Keynes. The 34-year-old is keen on getting his place back at Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen. Now, Verstappen has revealed his thoughts over potentially reuniting with Ricciardo in the future.

The two-time world champion was delighted to have his former teammate racing in the sport once again. Daniel Ricciardo was out of a race seat at the end of 2022 after parting ways with McLaren. The Australian driver took up the reserve driver for Red Bull which allowed him to replace de Vries at AlphaTauri. Verstappen said, “He is really excited and enthusiastic even after driving our car. It’s great to have him back on the grid and in the family.”

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Max Verstappen claimed that he was open to the prospect of having Ricciardo as his teammate once again if Red Bull decides to fire Sergio Perez. Moreover, the reigning world champion mentioned that he never wanted the Australian to leave Milton Keynes in the first place at the end of 2018. He stated, “It would be nice to have him again as a teammate, I never wanted him to leave. It’s all open.”

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Daniel Ricciardo needs to perform for a potential Red Bull seat

Daniel Ricciardo seat fitting for AlphaTauri (Credits: @RedBulletin/Twitter)
Daniel Ricciardo seat fitting for AlphaTauri (Credits: @RedBulletin/Twitter)

Ricciardo joined forces with AlphaTauri with a bigger target in mind. The Australian driver is eager to return to Milton Keynes alongside Verstappen. However, this will be an uphill task for the 34-year-old. The Red Bull sister team is currently struggling with its car characteristics with only 2 points scored so far. Daniel Ricciardo will need to understand the challenging AT-04 to make the most out of this opportunity.

If Ricciardo does succeed in bringing in results for the Faenza-based team, Red Bull might decide to replace Sergio Perez with the Australian driver. This would indeed bring back the iconic driver line-up at Milton Keynes consisting of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen. Although, there is a long way to go before the Australian could get this promotion.

Thus, Max Verstappen did not think twice before stating his interest in becoming teammates with Daniel Ricciardo once again. The two-time world champion was open to Red Bull firing Sergio Perez despite Perez’s role over the past two seasons. As such, it seems that Verstappen really does want to race for Milton Keynes alongside the Honey Badger.

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