13/09/2025 20:00
Daniel Ricciardo not being afforded the same "love affair" as Max
Verstappen at Red Bull is the "biggest mistake" the Milton
Keynes-based squad has made in the past decade, according to Derek
Daly. The Irishman highlights how the lack of "respect" for the
eight-time grand prix winner ultimately precipitated his departure
for Renault in 2019, as part of an exclusive interview with
RacingNews365 . Ricciardo, one of the most popular F1 drivers in
recent memory, had supplanted Sebastian Vettel at the then
four-time constructors' champions when Verstappen was elevated to
the top team in 2016. Whilst enjoying the measure of the young
Dutchman at first, the tide had begun to turn by the end of the
following campaign. It became increasingly apparent that the
now-four-time F1 drivers' champion was considered the heir to
Vettel's throne. Ricciardo was gradually shuffled to the periphery
and could see the way the wind was blowing, particularly when
Verstappen was handed a vast pay increase as part of an extension
to his existing contract with Red Bull. However, Daly, who raced in
F1 between 1978 and 1982, believes the team has suffered as a
direct result of how it handled that period, pointing to how
Ricciardo grew "tired" of the disparity in treatment. Once the
Australian left, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Liam Lawson, and now
Yuki Tsunoda all immediately failed to make the grade - and there
is no guarantee the lattermost driver retains his seat for 2026.
Only Sergio Perez, who was also ultimately relieved of his duties
at the end of 2024, proved capable of taming the Red Bull second
seat, but he was rarely on a par with Verstappen and also struggled
considerably in his final two seasons. When that failed string of
drivers is put to Daly and he is asked who should partner
Verstappen next season, he speaks of the "instability" Ricciardo's
departure catalysed. "So, I think it's a bigger picture," he
replies, before expanding on his view. "When you have a love affair
with someone like Max Verstappen, we now know there's a price to
pay for that. "And the price to pay for that appears to be team
instability. The biggest mistake in the last 10 years that Red Bull
made was to not respect Daniel Ricciardo, because when Daniel
Ricciardo was there, he was the only one who truly had the strength
to race at the highest levels against Max, be as fast as Max at
times. "But they didn't respect what he brought. They didn't treat
him to the love affair they had with Max, and eventually, he tired
of that." Elaborating further, Daly underlines the "emotional
support system" drivers require to extract the most performance
from themselves, leaning upon historic examples to illustrate his
point. "Because athletes, I believe, need an emotional support
system to operate at the highest levels," he adds. "I truly believe
that. "I think Max needs some of that, too. [Nigel] Mansell needed
that. [Ayrton] Senna needed that. [Michael] Schumacher manufactured
it at Ferrari by saying: 'This is how the team will operate' until
he had everything he wanted. "And so when they got rid of
Ricciardo, boom! The instability was built in right there."
Addressing again that ingrained "instability", Daly suggests
failing to keep Ricciardo was the seed that blossomed into the very
reason former team principal Christian Horner was put out to
pasture after two decades at the helm. "And so that was a costly
mistake; maybe that mistake was part of why Christian Horner got
fired at the end, because that was the anchor to the instability,
and from then on, that [stability] never occurred," he added. "So
maybe they start to recover with two fresh faces after Max leaves
in 2027," Daly concluded, sharing his opinion that Verstappen will
leave the team before the end of his current deal.
