Max Verstappen has expressed that Daniel Ricciardo should not “feel sorry for himself” as he awaits a decision on whether he will still be racing in Formula 1 in 2025.
Ricciardo’s prospects past the current campaign with RB remain undetermined as Red Bull ponders whether to retain his services or hand the chance to Liam Lawson.
The Australian is not anticipated to have long to wait, though, as he has echoed Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko’s comments that an outcome should land in the break.
However, there has been speculation arising that Ricciardo could even lose his place prior to the season concluding and he has not ruled out that scenario transpiring.
READ MORE: Daniel Ricciardo can’t ‘bet my house’ on seeing out 2024 F1 season
Verstappen, who partnered Ricciardo at Red Bull, has implied that his ex-team-mate should not have regrets should Singapore prove to be his last outing in the series.
“Daniel is a great guy. I think he has proven himself as a great Formula 1 driver,” Verstappen told media including Motorsport Week. “He’s a friend of mine.
“I think, in general, always being in this kind of position is never nice. But at the other end also, I don’t think he has to feel sorry for himself.
“Sometimes things maybe don’t work out the way you want them in certain stages of your career, but you still have achieved a lot more than anyone could ever dream of in their lives.
“So even if this is, let’s say, the last race or whatever, you can still look back at something amazing that not many people can achieve and do something else maybe in life also.
“I mean, why not? Many more… other race series or not. Maybe just chill back at the farm. Have a lot of fun. I mean, he’s a great guy.
“So, you know, for me, yeah, it doesn’t really matter or not if you deserve to be here.
“A lot of people deserve to be here. Some don’t deserve to be here. That’s life also, you know, in all kinds of sports. It’s how it goes.”
Verstappen acknowledges obstacles to Ricciardo
Ricciardo experienced an underwhelming beginning to the season, but he has since recovered to emerge as a match to team-mate Yuki Tsunoda over recent months.
However, the eight-time F1 race victor’s level has improved as RB’s competitiveness has dropped due to updates to the VCARB 01 delivering unwanted complications.
With RB’s struggles being exasperated in a tight midfield battle this term, Verstappen has acknowledged the challenge Ricciardo has had to extract consistent results.
“It’s, again, very difficult to comment on these things because you cannot look within the team as well, right?” he replied when asked about Ricciardo’s form in 2024.
“I mean, OK, from the outside, maybe people always expect more or wish for more. It’s just very tough in the midfield, I would say, to have a great run of form also.
“Yeah, I don’t know, it’s just, I guess everyone hopes for more. I think also himself, right?
“You always want to be better, naturally. Every year you want to become a better driver and sometimes that works a bit better than other years.”
