“Of course, I’m envious”– Daniel Ricciardo is not happy for himself to see Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at the top

Daniel Ricciardo is unhappy to see Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton having a battle of ages in the historic 2021 season.

Daniel Ricciardo is among the most experienced drivers in the current grid. Yet he is not in for the title contention ever since he has left Red Bull in 2019.

On the other hand, his former teammate Max Verstappen went onto challenge seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and has been successful in it in 2021.

Though, the 2021 title fight has been considered one of the ages. And Ricciardo envies the two drivers for having such a historical fight, as he didn’t get a chance to be a part of it.

“Of course, I’m envious,” he told an end-of-season press call, as quoted by GPFans. “But I’ve been envious for eight, nine years. It’s nothing new, but of course, it’s exciting the thought of it.

“For me like everyone, I’m a fan, I’m a driver, but I’m still a fan of the sport. It’s been great and take the envy aside, it’s awesome for F1 to have the battle.”

“I can’t recall a year where two guys found themselves side by side on so many races. I feel like 75 per cent of races they’d gone wheel to wheel at some point, so it’s pretty awesome.”

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Daniel Ricciardo feels it’s good to see two extreme spectrums of F1 battling

Verstappen is only 24-year-old, and in a few hours, Hamilton will be 37. Almost a 13 years difference is massive in sporting history, yet the two share the same stage, and Ricciardo is happy to witness that.

“I think the new cars are very exciting for F1 because they should mix things up a bit. The main thing we all want is closer racing – to follow a car in front easier and have more battles.” – @danielricciardo 🙌🧡 pic.twitter.com/NpQFIXehes

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) January 3, 2022

“Of course, I wish I was part of it, but again, just for the sport and it’s been a while (since) Lewis has been taken to this water – taken out to this, what do you say deep waters.”

“It’s nice and, you’ve also got, I know Max is not the young buck anymore, but he’s still that young generation, and obviously, Lewis is now one of the oldest guys on the grid. But it’s cool to see both ends of the spectrum go at it. From a fan point of view, it [was] awesome.”

Also read: Drivers explain how chock-full F1 calendar takes a toll on them

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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