Verstappen paddles with old acquaintance ahead of Australia GP
F1 News
This weekend, the first ever Grand Prix of 2025 is scheduled to take place. Max Verstappen took to the paddle court ahead of the race weekend. And the Red Bull Racing driver did so with an old friend.
Verstappen paddles with Ricciardo ahead of Australia GP
Indeed, on X, Verstappen can be seen posing on the padel court with his former teammate, Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian former Red Bull Racing driver, 'was in the neighborhood' which gave both an opportunity to throw down on the paddle court.
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Pre-Australian GP padel session with a familiar face #AusGP pic.twitter.com/t1hzDRDch2
— Max Verstappen (@VerstappenCOM) March 13, 2025
From 2016 to 2018, Verstappen and Ricciardo were teammates at Red Bull Racing. The two always got along well off the track, as seen in videos shared by the team. In 2019, the Australian made the switch to Renault, before moving to McLaren in 2021. Despite a win, the 'Honey Badger' failed to match his teammate, Lando Norris' effortsleading to a premature exit in 2022. After waht would become a last spell at Racing Bulls, Ricciardo left F1 towards the end of last season.
A big challenge may await Verstappen this weekend. McLaren seems to have the fastest car, as the Dutchman himself stated. There is, however, a chance that rain may affect the race, and after his superlative win in Brazil last year, there's all to play for at Melbourne for the four-time world champion.