Ricciardo on being Verstappen's teammate: 'We didn't give each other any space'

Daniel Ricciardo has been Max Verstappen's teammate for years at Red Bull Racing, so he knows better than anyone what it's like to work with him. Despite the fact that the two have clashed on track from time to time, they have always maintained a good and respectful relationship.

In an interview with AutoHebdo, Ricciardo looks back on his time as Verstappen's teammate at Red Bull. "From the first session I could already see that he was in a good position. He immediately set the tone, and that gave me energy too. Then I knew immediately that he would be fast," Ricciardo explained.

The two were often evenly matched, and on the track it sometimes came to a confrontation. "We didn't give each other any space. That did sometimes cause tricky situations, like Budapest in 2017 and Baku in 2018. But there was always mutual respect because we knew from each other that we could deal with those situations," he continues. "We pulled out all the stops, but in the end the winner and loser did just greet each other. Of course you didn't want to be in the position of the loser, but the fight was always fair."

Ricciardo believes Verstappen has a long career ahead of him. "He will stay in Formula 1 as long as he wants to. I think he has it in him to perform at top level even well into his thirties, a bit like Lewis Hamilton now. But also Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris are potential stars of the future, and also George Russell will be up front if he gets a strong car", Ricciardo said.