"We got the best out of each other" - Daniel Ricciardo says he and Max Verstappen 'thrived off' their 'heated rivalry'

Daniel Ricciardo said that he and Max Verstappen had a “heated rivalry” when they were teammates at Red Bull and felt that it pushed them both “for better or worse”. Speaking to Maxim, the Australian said:

“[Max] is the longest team-mate I’ve had in Formula 1. We had a rivalry, but I think we always respected each other. I think we pushed each other for better or worse, whether it was a heated rivalry or a respectful intensity we got the best out of each other. We both thrived off it.”

Ricciardo partnered with Verstappen between 2016 and 2018 at Red Bull before leaving for Renault the following year. The duo were pretty amicable off-track when they were teammates, but had several contentious moments on track, especially in 2018.

Their collisions in Baku and Budapest that season and Red Bull’s subsequent handling of those events are thought to have influenced the Australian's decision to leave the Red Bull family after being with them for more than a decade.

Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo has revealed that his decision to leave for Renault in 2019 helped him form a “better relationship” with Max Verstappen, given that they weren’t competing for similar positions on the track anymore. He added, saying:

“There was a bit of a lid on our relationship as team-mates, but when I then moved on from Red Bull and I felt like because we weren’t directly competing with each other we were able to actually form a better relationship. We were just a little more easier to get along with.”

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Daniel Ricciardo looking forward to bouncing back at Monaco after last year’s disappointment

Daniel Ricciardo is looking forward to “getting stuck” into the 2022 Monaco GP weekend and says he’s targeting a strong finish within the points.

The McLaren driver is hoping to move past last season’s disappointment at the venue when he was lapped by teammate Lando Norris. Speaking in his team's preview ahead of Monaco GP, he said:

“I’m bouncing back from a difficult race and looking forward to getting stuck into the Monaco weekend. I have a lot of history with this race so I’m hoping to make a mark in the MCL36 this year and score some points for the team. Off the back of Spain, I’ve got my head in the data with the engineers to make sure we’re in the best position possible to fight for a top 10 finish.”

Ricciardo seems more comfortable at McLaren this season compared to 2021 when he often struggled to match Norris’ pace in the same machinery.

Despite having won the Monaco GP in 2018, Ricciardo struggled for pace at the venue during the previous event, taking the chequered flag in a lowly P12, while Norris went on to secure a podium.