"Yeah, that's a very nice little article": Max Verstappen reacts to Daniel Ricciardo's comments about the Dutch driver ahead of his 200th F1 race

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen reacted to his former teammate, Daniel Ricciardo praising the Dutch driver ahead of his 200th F1 race at the Dutch Grand Prix this weekend. The three-time world champion will hit the landmark in his home race and look to emulate several other world champions who have tasted victory in their 200th race.

Ricciardo was Verstappen's first teammate when the Dutch joined Red Bull in mid-2016. and gave his first-hand account of his impression of the Dutch driver. The Aussie driver, via Red Bull's official website, spoke about instantly being impressed by Max Verstappen's first outing at the top team.

Daniel Ricciardo said,

“He jumped in the Red Bull car for the first time for practice and was on it. I saw more than just speed … it was more that he was so unfazed by everything. With so many sports, so many athletes, that’s the bigger thing – who can do it once the eyes are on them when the pressure is on and the lights are bright?" Ricciardo said.

"That, for me … his very first time where all eyes were on him, he just didn’t seem bothered by any of it. You couldn’t not notice it. There was that ‘it’ factor that was very evident straight away,” he added.

Max Verstappen on his stream online, reacted to his former teammates' kind words ahead of his landmark race and said,

"Yeah, that's a very nice little article."

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Daniel Ricciardo gives his take on Max Verstappen being touted as the GOAT

RB driver Daniel Ricciardo said he believed Max Verstappen would go down in F1 history as the 'greatest of all time'. The 35-year-old even cheekily credited himself for the Red Bull driver's approach towards life and racing and said:

"I reckon I’ve probably been able to rub off on some people in a positive way, that little bit more joking way, more carefree. Whether that’s rubbed off a little bit on Max … I’m not going to take full credit, maybe just a bit of it," Ricciardo said.

The eight-time race winner then claimed that he had no qualms in acknowledging that Verstappen "could go down maybe as the greatest of all time", and lauded the 26-year-old for his performances and stellar accomplishments in the sport so far.

Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo were teammates from mid-2016 to 2018 at Red Bull, before the Australian driver decided to move to Renault in 2019. During their time as teammates at the Austrian team, both drivers were closely matched on track and shared a friendly equation off the track, which later blossomed into a friendship after Ricciardo departed from Red Bull.