Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo feels he has the confidence that he could take on and beat Lewis Hamilton if the two drivers were to ever partner up together.
With Max Verstappen’s mid-season promotion to the senior team alongside Ricciardo, it’s clear that he has raised his own game amidst the hype surrounding the young Dutchman.
However, Ricciardo has said he would be happy to partner the three-time world champion in the future and could beat him.
“Absolutely, it’s something that I’ve been asked a few times – who would you love as a teammate and all that – and Lewis was one that I was always saying,” he was quoted by Eurosport.
“Obviously I think that he is massively talented and…I think we would have a good fight, and, yeah, I’d have confidence that I could get the job done.”
Ricciardo also says he has a good relationship with the Brit, albeit Hamilton does like to enjoy his own company from time to time during race weekends.
“He’s never had anything bad to say about me. He’s always been nice to me, but sure he has days where he likes to keep to himself,” Ricciardo added.
“Some days we’ll chat and other days we won’t and that’s just that. But at the same time, it’s, sure I’ve made a few friends in the sport, but it’s not our primary purpose of being here.”
With the Australian committing to Red Bull until the end of his current contract, which runs until 2018, earlier this week Red Motorsport’s Ben Issatt asked could Ricciardo regret not having tried to force a move to Mercedes? Certainly, the battle between the Mercedes and Red Bull drivers will be one to watch.
