Max Verstappen picks $50mn worth F1 driver as one of his top 3 friends on the grid

Max Verstappen claimed that former Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo is one of his top 3 friends on the current F1 grid. The duo were teammates from the middle of 2016 till 2018 and were fierce competitors on the track.

In a clip floating around on social media, the three-time world champion was asked to name in top 3 friends on the grid. The Dutch driver named the current McLaren driver Lando Norris as his best friend followed by the $50 million worth Ricciardo and his Red Bull teammate, Sergio Perez.

However, their friendship grew after Ricciardo left the Milton-Keynes-based outfit to join Renault in 2019, before eventually moving to McLaren in 2021.

When the Aussie returned to the Red Bull family in 2023, Max Verstappen spoke with F1.com, pointing out that he 'never wanted' Daniel Ricciardo to leave the Austrian team in the first place. He talked about the possibility of becoming teammates with the 34-year-old:

“Yeah… I mean, I never actually wanted him to leave! No, I mean, all of these things… We know that we get on very well. If Daniel does well where he is now, then of course you have the opportunity to go back up, right? So, it’s all open to be honest.”

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Max Verstappen speaks about his chances to win the 2024 Spanish GP

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen Stated that he would want to win the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday but was unsure about the pace of the RB20 and their rivals around him.

In the post-qualifying press conference, the Dutch driver opined his chances for the race win and said:

"Yeah, I mean, for sure I would like to win tomorrow, naturally. I think it's still a bit unknown where we are, like all of us, in terms of pure pace in the long runs. I'm hoping, of course, it's going to be all very close like it has been in the last few races."

"And I think, yeah, with the high deg around here as well, you need to really look after your tires. I don't know, of course, in what state the track will be as well tomorrow with potential rain, of course, overnight and in the morning. So all these kinds of things, of course, come into play," Verstappen added.

Max Verstappen will start the main race on Sunday from P2 behind McLaren driver Lando Norris and will have to pass the British driver to get his third consecutive win at the Circuit de Catalunya.

However, he would have his work cut out from behind as well, with the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell and the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz starting right behind him on Sunday.