Max Verstappen has voiced support for Daniel Ricciardo amid his push to return to the Formula 1 paddock in a race seat capacity.
Ricciardo departed the grid at the end of the 2022 campaign following a challenging two years with the McLaren squad.
The eight-time grand prix winner was unable to match the pace of Lando Norris during their stint together, leaving the Woking-based outfit to take the decision to part ways with the Australian and replace him with rookie Oscar Piastri.
His difficult years at McLaren followed a period from 2014 to 2018 where Ricciardo was viewed as one of the grid’s strongest drivers while competing with Red Bull.
Ricciardo returned to the energy drink-backed team this year as a third driver, with Verstappen hailing his former stable-mate’s impact in the garage.
“It’s good,” Verstappen said, when asked how Ricciardo has fitted back into the team.
“We spent quite a few years together, but not only in the team, but also when he was at other teams.
“He’s a great guy, he’s a lot of fun, we can definitely laugh a lot. I think for the whole team, it’s nice to have him around and for himself as well, just to get that kind of positive energy back into him, hopefully build back into a full-time race seat for him.”
When asked if Ricciardo lost his spark at McLaren, Verstappen replied: “Maybe just because of not feeling confident in the car, not enjoying his time.”
However, Verstappen believes that the 33-year-old is in a better place now as he seeks out a vacancy on the grid going forward.
“I think he’s enjoying his time quite a bit now, but I also know that he wants to race and I hope for him, of course, that he will get a race seat again.”
