"They've both got the potential": Daniel Ricciardo split between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen for F1 title

McLaren F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo says both Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton have the potential to clinch the World Drivers' Championship (WDC) at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Ricciardo, who has raced wheel-to-wheel with both Hamilton and Verstappen over the years, has said it’s too close to call between the two title contenders.

When asked who he thinks is the favorite to win the WDC, Daniel Ricciardo told Will Buxton:

“I don't know. Like, I'll be honest. A few weeks ago, I was like, I think Max and then I was like, maybe Lewis. Right now, I don't know. It really comes down to this weekend. And I know if people hear that, like, yeah, of course, it does. But no, it's the next 72 hours. Whoever performs better over the course of that through practice, sets the car up better, puts himself in the best position, then, to be prepared for qualifying, and then, the race, that's who's going to do it. So, it's, it's now a race of one weekend. So, they've both got the potential to make that happen, as they've shown, so we'll see. I wish them both well.”

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“I discovered why I've been fast in previous years”: Daniel Ricciardo says the struggles of this year taught him more about himself

Daniel Ricciardo’s first season with McLaren didn’t go to plan as he struggled to adjust to the vastly different philosophy of the car's design.

While teammate Lando Norris put in performances that routinely threatened Red Bull and Mercedes, Daniel Ricciardo struggled to even reach the final leg of qualifying.

However, as the season progressed, and with massive support from the team, Daniel Ricciardo slowly made progress. The highlight of his season came at Monza when the Aussie pipped Mercedes' Hamilton in sprint qualifying and went on to win the main race.

While McLaren have had a series of bad race weekends in recent times, Daniel Ricciardo still takes pleasure in the progress he and the team have made over the season. Speaking to Will Buxton in the media pen ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the 32-year-old said:

“I think it's, it's definitely highlighted things in the team or things in the car that need working on, but it actually made me realize, probably for the first time in my career, not only one of my weaknesses but one of my strengths. And, through my weaknesses, I discovered – ‘Oh, that's why I've been fast in previous years,’ because I like to drive the car like this. And yeah, it's always just been instinct and whatever. And of course, you work for it. But if you're fast, sometimes you are just fast and you have that feeling, but to break it down why, I wasn't always sure. So, through all that I also learned a lot about myself this year – not just the things that I still need to work on, but the things that actually got me here.”

Daniel Ricciardo was 16th-fastest in Friday's first free practice session ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, while teammate Norris was 12th.