Max Verstappen once tried to convince Daniel Ricciardo to stay in Red Bull

Daniel Ricciardo will return to Red Bull Racing next season as a reserve driver after he terminated his contract with McLaren early this season.

For many years, Ricciardo drove for the Red Bull F1 team and was on his road to success but he decided to move to Renault in 2019. Two years later, he moved to McLaren which did not turn too well for him and he was left with no seats in the 2023 season.

In yet another shocking move, the Australian signed as a third driver with the Red Bull F1 team while targeting a return to the race seat in 2024.

Verstappen, who had previously teamed with the Australian in Red Bull revealed that he was quite disappointed that he will not be on the grid next season.

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Max Verstappen lauds Ricciardo’s qualities

While the Australian has not been at the top of his performance in the past couple of years, Verstappen still sees many qualities in him.

The duo had many controversial moments when they raced together at Red Bull but Verstappen believes that Ricciardo should have stayed with the team for longer in the past.

Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo and George Russell “press conference” #JapaneseGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/QQdhZJ2V2r

— F1 To Rule Them All (@F1RulesMedia) October 6, 2022

Furthermore, the Dutchman revealed that when the Honey Badger was making a move to the French team he spoke to him about it.

But the newly-crowned 2-time champion feels that it is also about making yourself feel comfortable somewhere.

Ricciardo reveals what encourages me

The Honey Badger hopes to make a return in the 2024 season after a year’s break from the motorsport and has revealed what encourages him about his move.

He said that there are certain drivers who have given him the confidence of returning to the sport such as Kevin Magnussen and Fernando Alonso.

Looking at those drivers and how they have made a solid comeback, Ricciardo told Crash.net that “we are wired differently. I look at Alonso, for example – someone who loves racing all the time and him having that time off and coming back.”

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