Ricciardo sees Verstappen developing enormously: 'That certainly helped him'

The top three

The Formula 1 season of 2020 has quickly passed. Due to the coronavirus, the season was initially postponed, but a lot of races were still held in a short period of time. According to Daniel, apart from himself, there are two drivers who really stand out in Formula 1.

''Mr. Consistent in the lead is, of course, Lewis Hamilton. He is, of course, one of the best three drivers, but no matter in which place. Max Verstappen is one of them and the way Charles Leclerc drives his Ferrari also makes him a candidate, but he still made some mistakes, so maybe he doesn't belong to the top three yet. I would probably choose myself among the top three. It is difficult to choose yourself, but it is also difficult not to. So I would go for Lewis, Max and myself'," says the Australian.

The growth of Verstappen

When choosing Verstappen, the former teammate of the Dutchman is also asked about the development Ricciardo has seen him go through. ''He certainly took a big step in 2016 and 2017, but the move to cars with bigger tyres and more grip also helped him," says the driver who will be in action for McLaren next year.

''He did very well, but those new cars were a little better for him. If I'm to believe the stories, he may have been the best go-kart ever and those go-karts always have a lot of grip, so it was similar. In 2017 the speed was already there, but he still had to get those faults out, also in 2018. But they've been removed and now he's reaching a high constant level without any big mistakes. However, I already saw that potential when he started," concludes Ricciardo.