Former Formula 1 driver and Max Verstappen’s father Jos believes his son learned a fair bit from having Daniel Ricciardo as a teammate.
Having been drafted by the Red Bull team in midway through the 2016 season to replace Daniil Kvyat, Max Verstappen and Ricciardo served as teammates for roughly two and half years.
Verstappen Sr., who was Michael Schumacher’s teammate during the 1994 season believes given his son’s relatively young age, Max was only 18 at the time, Ricciardo was the perfect teammate to help his son develop into a future world champion.
The former Benneton and Arrows driver cited Ricciardo’s qualifying pace as something that impressed him, with the Dutchman labeling the Australian a beast.
“I do think maybe he learnt the most from Daniel Ricciardo, a nice peer he got on very well with,” Jos Verstappen told the FORMULE 1 Magazine. “Max was a young guy back then and Ricciardo really good, a qualifying beast.”
Jos weighs in on Ricciardo’s McLaren woes
Despite Ricciardo being held in high regard when he was paired with the younger Verstappen, the Australian’s F1 career is left in limbo after being dropped a year early by McLaren.
The elder Verstappen believes the issue lies with Ricciardo’s ability to gel with the characteristics of the McLaren, stating that the Australian’s style doesn’t suit the McLaren as it did the Red Bull.
“I also think the car suited him well then and that’s a bit Ricciardo’s problem now,” Verstappen Sr. continued.
“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.”
