McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo admitted to being jealous of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen and their battle for supremacy ahead of everyone else.
Hamilton and Verstappen battled for the world championship in 2021. The Mercedes driver and his Red Bull counterpart fought all the way to the last lap of the last race of the season. Ultimately, the latter came out on top under the most dramatic of circumstances, but it was clear that the duo were head and shoulders above the rest.
The Honey Badger is an eight-time race winner himself, and has duked it out with some of F1’s finest. However, he has never been involved in a title race in his career, and expressed his wish to be fighting for the championship.
Ricciardo admitted to being jealous of Hamilton and Verstappen, and said that he also wants to join the party in the future.
When asked by GP Fans if he is hungry to join the championship battle, the McLaren driver said, “Of course, I’m envious.
“But I’ve been envious for eight, nine years. It’s nothing new, but of course, it’s exciting the thought of it. For me like everyone, I’m a fan, I’m a driver, but I’m still a fan of the sport. It’s been great and take the envy aside, it’s awesome for F1 to have the battle.
“I can’t recall a year where two guys found themselves side by side on so many races. I feel like 75 per cent of races they’d gone wheel to wheel at some point, so it’s pretty awesome.”
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“Of course, I wish I was part of it, but again, just for the sport and it’s been a while Lewis has been taken to this water, if you will, taken out to this, what do you say, deep waters,” he continued.
“It’s nice and you’ve also got… I know Max is not the young buck anymore, but he’s still that young generation, and obviously, Lewis is now one of the oldest guys on the grid, but it’s cool to see both ends of the spectrum go at it.
“From a fan point of view, it (was) awesome.”
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