Ricciardo saw Verstappen make big strides: 'Then he was making mistakes'

Daniel Ricciardo was part of Red Bull Racing in 2016 when Max Verstappen joined the Austrian formation. The Australian noticed that the two-time world champion had to get used to his new team in the early stages, but managed to make strides at lightning speed.

Whereas Verstappen has now won more than Ricciardo in Formula 1, the Dutchman was able to pull himself up to his teammate's level in his first season. Ricciardo brought in more points in both 2016 and 2017, while Verstappen was busy developing.

"I think he definitely took a step," Ricciardo analysed in conversation with Formula1.com. In doing so, he remembers well the beginning of his partnership with Verstappen. "[Across] the first five or six races he was in the wall a lot, having incidents or making mistakes."

Ricciardo on title battle between Hamilton and Verstappen

Verstappen, however, managed to develop himself at lightning speed. In 2018, when Ricciardo was in his final season at Red Bull, the current McLaren driver saw the results. Indeed, Verstappen scored 79 points more than his teammate. Ricciardo saw that Verstappen managed to continue that path into 2021, when he battled Lewis Hamilton for his first world title.

"Obviously last year, when you’re fighting for a title, I’m sure you’re going to push the boundaries a bit more… I mean, the fight between him and Lewis was controversial because it was also Mercedes vs Red Bull, so there was a lot of intensity around that."