Max Verstappen shed light on his ‘very good’ relationship with former teammate Daniel Ricciardo when asked whether he enjoys racing alongside Sergio Perez for Red Bull. Verstappen was paired with the Australian when he burst onto the scene as an 18-year-old, with Ricciardo acting as his experienced partner.
At the time, Mercedes and even Ferrari were too strong for Red Bull and both Verstappen and Ricciardo struggled for wins. Ricciardo dramatically left the team for Renault as he appeared concerned Red Bull were set to place stock in the Dutchman, who won his maiden world title in 2021.
While Verstappen has been at Red Bull for the entirety of his career, Ricciardo left Renault after two years for McLaren, which has been a difficult time for the Australian. While he won dramatically the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, bright spots have been few and far between – but Verstappen wanted to make clear his good relationship with Ricciardo even in the presence of Perez.
When asked by LADbible TV to choose whether they agreed or not with the statement ‘I love being teammates with the person opposite me’, both Red Bull drivers slid their glass to the ‘strongly agree’ option. Verstappen explained how his maturity has led to a more successful relationship with Perez, although he pointed out how he had a good relationship with Ricciardo.
“I started, of course, very young in Formula 1 and I had a very good relationship with Daniel [Ricciardo] but at the time I was still 18 or 19,” Verstappen said as both he and Perez appeared on LADbible TV’s Agree to Disagree segment. “And I think now, where I am as a person is completely different.
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