Out of all of Max Verstappen’s teammates at Red Bull, Daniel Ricciardo has tasted the most success during his stint with the team between 2014 and 2018. Since leaving Red Bull, however, his career has taken a huge downward hit, with an underwhelming spell at Renault followed by a nightmarish two years at McLaren.
Ricciardo lost out on his seat at the end of the 2022 season and failed to find a place for himself this year. As a result, he returned to Red Bull as a third driver behind Verstappen and Sergio Perez. His main job is to appear for commercial and marketing duties in addition to taking part in tests and simulator runs.
Ricciardo following the fallout between Perez and Verstappen knowing he needs a seat in 2024 👀 pic.twitter.com/itUADMWz8R
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) November 14, 2022
Verstappen meanwhile is arguably the most dominant driver in Formula 1 at the moment and is on course to secure his third consecutive world championship.
In a recent video uploaded by Aussie YouTuber Ponden, Ricciardo talks about his interests away from F1 and reveals a choice he would never make in his career, unlike his former teammate Verstappen.
Daniel Ricciardo would never be an e-sports driver
Verstappen and his love for sim racing is very well documented, with the Dutchman taking part in numerous prestigious events around the world. Ricciardo, however, would never want to become an e-sports driver.
When Ponden asked Ricciardo if he would rather be a content creator for F1, or an e-sports driver, the 33-year-old had no hesitation in choosing the former. This is because Ricciardo feels that as a Formula 1 driver, he has already experienced the life of what an e-sports driver would be doing.
Instead, Ricciardo would choose to do something very different, like becoming a content creator. “I’ve done the race car thing,” says Ricciardo. “So content creator would be more new and probably interesting or exciting for me. Where I’ve raced my whole life.”
Verstappen’s love for sim racing
Verstappen is arguably the most avid sim racer out of anyone in F1 at the moment. Over the last few years, we’ve seen him compete in coveted tournaments like the Virtual 24 hours of Le Mans, and perform extremely well in them.
A few months ago, rumors of him installing a sim racing set up on his private jet emerged, although they turned out to be false very soon. Regardless, we have seen the 25-year-old spend his free time on his expensive setup at home, streaming for his fans on various platforms.
