“He is a race winner” – Max Verstappen sings Red Bull’s praise for snapping up Daniel Ricciardo’s services

Max Verstappen recently spoke about his former teammate Daniel Ricciardo and how he will be massively beneficial to Red Bull as a simulator driver. After two tough seasons with McLaren, the Australian left the team but was unable to find a new seat on the grid. Though he was forced to leave the grid, Red Bull appointed Ricciardo as a simulator driver.

During Red Bull's 2023 car launch event, Max Verstappen praised the Australian and how well he could reintegrate with his former team. The Dutchman also mentioned how Ricciardo has won races in the past and has loads of experience under his belt, saying:

"I think his smile, his attitude, he has always been a professional and a super nice guy to work with as well, as a team-mate, but also for the whole team. Also, for the people back at the factory, working on the simulator will rely on his experience. He has raced in Formula 1 for a very long time, he is a race winner so we are very happy to have him on board, that is for sure."

A few days after the car launch event, Daniel Ricciardo was also asked about his role at Red Bull. He explained how he will help the team build the car by mainly working on the simulator. He may also be seen doing tire tests, but he will not participate in any official race weekend sessions, which will be handled solely by Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

"So mainly from the driving point of view, simulator will be the main thing I will do. Not confirmed, so I am not sure if it will happen, but I know there are some tire tests so I would say if I am to drive this year's car, that is more likely than FP1s. So potentially some tire tests, there is maybe a couple in the middle of the year so that is something that could be there but mainly, the sim work is the driving stuff for now."

It is no secret that Daniel Ricciardo will also be doing loads of promotional content for Red Bull. The Australian is an unofficial brand ambassador for F1 and is extremely popular among all kinds of fans. Hence, the British-Austrian team will be taking advantage of this and pulling more and more fans towards them.

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Daniel Ricciardo opens up about his relationship with Max Verstappen

Daniel Ricciardo recently opened up about his relationship with Max Verstappen after joining Red Bull as a simulator driver. Since both used to be teammates from 2016 to 2018, they knew each other very well. Though his clash with Verstappen in the 2018 Azerbaijan GP had a deep impact on him, he stated that they have a great relationship apart from that.

Speaking to the Dutch wing of Motorsport.com, the Australian said:

“Obviously there was the clash in Baku. But apart from that, I think we’ve always had a pretty good relationship. Very competitive, of course, but also a very good personal relationship, and we also communicate via SMS and stuff.”

Max Verstappen will once again work with Daniel Ricciardo as both will try to push Red Bull even further forward in the 2023 F1 season.