Verstappen's Heart-Warming Response To Ricciardo's Potentially Last Race In F1

Monday, 23 September 2024 at 15:40

Max Verstappen shared some heartwarming words about Daniel Ricciardo after what might have been the Australian's final race in Formula 1.

F1 paddock insiders (such as Ralf Schumacher) have been claiming from the start of the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix race week that it might be the last time we see Daniel Ricciardo in his overalls, driving for one of the F1 teams on the grid.

The Honey Badger has been driving for RB / VCARB since the 2023 season. However, his performances have not met Red Bull's (which owns the team) expectations.

The Honey Badger is one of the drivers without a contract for 2025, and what we saw in Singapore after the race suggested Ricciardo would not even complete the 2024 season.

According to an F1 photograph, Kym Illman, the 35-year-old driver, was "hugging everybody" and basically saying goodbye on Sunday after the race before leaving the paddock.

Although Red Bull hasn't admitted to having decided to replace Ricciardo, it became a public secret by the end of the weekend. Here is what Max Verstappen said about Daniel Ricciardo after the Grand Prix race on Sunday:

"He will be remembered as a great driver, as a great person also. He has a great character. It's very rare someone hates him. I think also in a future time when I won't be here anymore, we'll sit back and look back at all those years together, and we'll have a beer together."

The Dutchman might have known about what was happening behind the scenes in the two Red Bull teams for a longer time, as he already spoke about Ricciardo as if he was about to leave on Thursday ahead of the weekend. He said earlier during FIA's press conference:

"Daniel's a great guy. I think he has proven himself as a great F1 driver. He's a friend of mine. I think, in general, always being in this kind of position is never nice."

Daniel Ricciardo, full of emotions, walking through the paddock after the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix.

Daniel Ricciardo after the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix

"I don't think he has to feel sorry for himself. Sometimes things may not work out the way you want them to in certain stages of your career but you still have achieved a lot - more than anyone could ever dream of in their lives."

"Even if this is the last race or whatever, you can still look back at something amazing that not many people can achieve and do something else maybe in life. Why not? Many more other race series or not."