Daniel Ricciardo does believe Max Verstappen will develop into a better driver than Sebastian Vettel.
Having beaten both drivers over the course of a season during his five-year stint at Red Bull, the Australian will at least that accolade to his name when he ends his Formula 1 career.
But when it comes to putting over the other, Ricciardo does see the potential of Verstappen as a critical factor.
“I won’t take anything away from Seb, he is not slow by any means,” he told Nico Rosberg during his Beyond Victory podcast.
“Probably as well because Max is still young and if he’s quick now, he’s probably only going to get quicker. Seb has been doing it that long, I think you always improve as a driver, but there’s less room for him to grow and more for Max.
“If Seb’s listening, sorry Seb!”
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Ricciardo’s year alongside Vettel, with three wins and a third in the Drivers’ standings, elevated him to a level few thought he would reach when he stepped up to replace Mark Webber in 2014.
Some of that is because the German had just won his fourth straight F1 title but the now-Renault driver wasn’t fazed by that fact.
“I was excited for that challenge, the on-track challenge but also to see how he worked off-track,” he said. “There was a lot of attention to detail. He lives and breathes racing.
“I felt he didn’t have many other hobbies. It was just racing and he was really absorbed by it. He had a good way of communicating, he was firm but not disrespectful.
“If something wasn’t good enough, he would say ‘It’s not good enough, we can do better’, but it got the message across. He was direct but was still kind. He shook everyone’s hand and had a good balance.”
