Ricciardo not surprised by Verstappen's success

Once they were teammates at Red Bull Racing; Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo. During this period, the Australian could see Verstappen's spectacular development from very close by. The more races the Dutchman did, the more he began to outpace Ricciardo.

Meanwhile, Verstappen has become world champion twice. Pundits in the paddock are not surprised, as already upon his entry into Formula 1, Verstappen was predicted to have a great future. Also, Ricciardo identified that the Dutchman was special many years ago.

Speaking to Speedcafe.com Ricciardo reveals that it is always difficult to predict who will eventually become the world champion. Guarantees simply do not exist in a sport like Formula 1. But: “I think you can recognise the drivers that have the talent to do it, so I recognised that in the right car he will definitely have a chance to be world champion, I saw that in his future. There’s no guarantee, but I certainly saw that, especially because he was still young. I’m not surprised he’s in this position."

Verstappen still has a contract at Red Bull until 2028. Given the current balance of power in Formula 1, it is not strange to assume that he will have more World Championship success with the team in the coming years. "Is it like even now predicting will this be his second of five or his second of only three? It’s hard to know because again, you need the team and the package.”