Daniel Ricciardo might not have that 'magic dust' that Max Verstappen has but he will be the perfect teammate, according to former F1 racer

Former F1 driver David Kennedy recently said he believes Daniel Ricciardo is the perfect teammate for Max Verstappen at Red Bull despite not having the 'magic dust'.

Ricciardo is in contention to become the second Red Bull driver if he succeeds at AlphaTauri in the second half of the season. The Aussie driver returned to the grid after a seven-month hiatus and garnered detention from everyone after he publicly spoke about his ambitions of becoming Max Verstappen's teammate once again.

Speaking with PlanetF1, Kennedy said:

“It is the toughest role in the world to be the team-mate of someone of that outstanding ability. I think this is a real difficult situation now that [Red Bull] find themselves in and so, would Daniel be the man to sit in there?"

He continued:

“I always thought he is such a solid player. He might not have that magic dust that Verstappen has, but he is so incredibly close that he would be the perfect teammate. Someone who is tough as nuts and can accept that somebody can out-qualify him by that fraction. Because, if you’re a smart racer, you can still win races.”

Red Bull advisor hints at Daniel Ricciardo's future with them

Helmut Marko recently hinted at the possibility that Daniel Ricciardo will stay at AlphaTauri if he performs well in the second half of the season and does not make the jump to Red Bull in 2024.

Speaking with Motorsport Magazin, Marko said:

“We know his goals, but how to achieve them, whether he is ready to do a full year at AlphaTauri next year with full commitment. Yuki Tsunoda has steadily improved in and of himself, has his emotions under control for the most part, and is now also conditionally capable of driving through a GP."

He continued:

“We have alternatives, for example (Liam) Lawson, who is second in Japan and is very successful there and has made a big leap forward in his whole development since he’s been driving in Japan. The change has had a very positive effect, in terms of mood and motivation in the AlphaTauri team."

He also said:

"While the gap of De Vries was on average three to five tenths, Ricciardo, if you adjust for all that, is significantly less, if not on par with Tsunoda."

It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Daniel Ricciardo when it comes to him driving for a team in the 2024 season.