Follow us on Google Discover Daniel Ricciardo was always one of the most popular Formula 1 drivers in the United States of America and had a very close eye on what was going on in Austin.
The United States Grand Prix was another perfect weekend for Red Bull and Daniel Ricciardo’s old teammate, Max Verstappen.
Verstappen has been putting himself in contention for the drivers’ championship ever since he finished second at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Since his home race at Zandvoort, he’s won in Monza and Azerbaijan, finished second to George Russell in Singapore and then dominated the weekend in Austin.
Position Drivers’ Championship PointsPts 1 336 2 314 3 273 4 237 5 173 6 127 7 88 8 70 9 39 10 37
Current championship leader Oscar Piastri had a difficult weekend, crashing into Lando Norris during the Sprint Race before being outpaced by his McLaren teammate during qualifying and Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Verstappen was joined in the points by Yuki Tsunoda, who finished seventh and helped reduce the gap to Ferrari and Mercedes in the constructors’ championship.
Tsunoda is under serious pressure at Red Bull, and one man who knows all too well what it’s like to be Verstappen’s teammate is Ricciardo.
He delivered his verdict on Tsunoda’s race weekend in Austin before highlighting just how ‘ridiculous’ Verstappen is, while also reserving praise for another driver who had a fantastic race on Sunday.
READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend
Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty ImagesDaniel Ricciardo praises Yuki Tsunoda and delivers Max Verstappen verdict at the United States GP
Ricciardo took part in a group chat on WhatsApp throughout the race, sharing his thoughts on all of the drivers.
Speaking about the Dutchman at the start of the race when he opened up a significant gap on Charles Leclerc and Norris, he said: “Meanwhile, Max is contacting the restaurant about his steak cooked medium rare for later tonight.
“Haha, yeah, Max is ridiculous. Kid’s so good. Yes, I’m stating the obvious, I know.”
RANKDRIVERTEAMPOINTS1Max VerstappenRed Bull252Lando NorrisMcLaren183Charles LeclercFerrari154Lewis HamiltonFerrari125Oscar PiastriMcLaren106George RussellMercedes87Yuki TsunodaRed Bull68Nico HulkenbergSauber49Oliver BearmanHaas210Fernando AlonsoAston Martin12025 United States Grand Prix result
He then sent a voice note later in the race and said: “I mean, Max is really keeping this championship even more exciting than it already was with Oscar and Lando.”
When speaking about Leclerc in his battle with Norris, Ricciardo commented: “Charles still holding on is so impressive.”
The popular Australian then delivered his verdict on Tsunoda, who secured P7 in both the Sprint Race and Sunday’s Grand Prix and admitted: “Tsunoda’s had another good first few laps. Two days in a row, he’s coming through nicely.”
READ MORE: Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda’s life outside F1 from height to parents
One of the rumours that surfaced earlier in the season linked Ricciardo with a return to Formula 1.
Ricciardo lost his seat at RB at the Singapore Grand Prix last year and has kept his distance from the paddock ever since.
STARTSWINSPOLESPODIUMSFASTEST LAPSPOINTSBEST CHAMPIONSHIP FINISH2578332171,3293rd (2014,2016)Daniel Ricciardo’s Formula 1 career stats
However, Ricciardo was a name linked with Cadillac earlier in the year ahead of their Formula 1 debut.
Graeme Lowdon admitted Ricciardo was the ‘wrong person’ for Cadillac as he hadn’t kept himself close to F1 and made his feelings clear about a return.
When asked in the WhatsApp group about coming back to racing, Ricciardo admitted: “My neck ain’t so strong anymore, haha. No more neck training, thank the lord, haha, I hated that part.
“And the neck, it’s so intense that first sector.”