Max Verstappen is on top of the Formula 1 world and after claiming his second straight championship, has shown he’s on another level.
The 25-year-old Dutch superstar, currently in his ninth season, is on another stratosphere having won six of the past seven races.
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But as the Red Bull superstar reigns supreme over the grid, his father revealed who his son had learnt the most from.
In his time behind the wheel, the man who taught him the most was non other than Aussie star Daniel Ricciardo.
The two were Red Bull teammates across the 2016, 2017 and 2018 seasons with Ricciardo edging out Verstappen in two out of the three seasons.
Verstappen got the wood over Ricciardo in 2018, finishing fourth on the drivers standings 79 points ahead of his teammate.
Ricciardo however over their three seasons together toppled Verstappen with a combined 626 championship points compared to Verstappen’s 621.
Since Ricciardo’s departure from the Red Bull garage however, Verstappen has secured 24 Grand Prix victories while the Aussie has nabbed just one.
Despite being on completely different paths, the impact Ricciardo had on his former teammate was profound as Max’s father Jos revealed.
“[I] find it very difficult to say. I do think maybe he learnt the most from Daniel Ricciardo, a nice peer he got on very well with. Max was a young guy then and Ricciardo really good, a qualifying beast,” Jos said to Formula 1 magazine.
Ricciardo detailed the issues he has faced since joining McLaren with the Aussie unable to replicate his Red Bull dominance.
Jos believes it was the set up of the Red Bull that suited his driving style more and allowed him to remain near the front of the grid.
“I also think the car suited him well then and that’s a bit Ricciardo’s problem now. The car doesn’t suit him so well. There are things that don’t suit Ricciardo so well and that’s why it’s not coming out.
“The young guard adapts more easily. You know: you shouldn’t move an old tree. You have with some older drivers – and that includes me – a certain style that has grown that way. And that is difficult to change. A young person like that adapts more easily.”
Ricciardo will sit out the 2023 season after his McLaren contract was cut short with the team opting to replace him with fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri.
Ricciardo confirmed the news at the Japanese Grand Prix, shortly after Alpine announced they had signed Pierre Gasly who shifted over from AlphaTauri with debutant Nyck De Vries taking his place.
Ricciardo hits pause on his career as the most experienced Australian F1 driver in history, registering 227 starts.
He has claimed eight Grand Prix victories, 32 podiums and three pole positions since making his F1 debut in 2011, making him the 39th mist successful driver in history.
