Daniel Ricciardo had "unexpected" phone calls which show F1 rival's true colours

09 December 2023 , 13:16

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Daniel Ricciardo has spoken about his friendship with Sebastian Vettel (Image: Getty Images)

Daniel Ricciardo has hailed Sebastian Vettel for being a good friend during his difficult times while driving for McLaren.

Ricciardo spent two years with McLaren but struggled for form, finishing eighth in 2021 and 11th in 2022. McLaren ended up terminating his contract a year early by mutual consent, allowing the Australian to move to Red Bell and become a third driver.

It was a low period in Ricciardo’s F1 career but he was helped through it by his former Red Bull team-mate Vettel. The four-time world champion spent the 2014 season with Ricciardo at Red Bull before leaving for Ferrari and stayed in touch to support him.

“He's picked up the phone multiple times, and just been a friend, and just, like, showing care, just checking in, checking in as a true friend would do,” Ricciardo told the Beyond the Grid podcast. “To have friends like that is so important. But it's also not that common, in terms of the grid.

“We get on with drivers, and you do build friendships, but to have that kind of deeper level of friendship....some gestures he made, and some of the kindness he showed towards me was, in a way, kind of unexpected.”

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Ricciardo landed on his feet at Red Bull after performing well in a private test at Silverstone to convince Christian Horner and Helmut Marko that he still has what it takes. Recalling that test, Ricciardo picked out the moment he knew he had saved his Formula 1 career: "I'm not going to sugar coat it - the first timed lap was on the money.

Sebastian Vettel is a good friend of Daniel Ricciardo (PA)

"It was a few hundredths off Max [Verstappen]. Coming into that lap, I was so excited. I was treating it like a qualifying lap. I just had that feeling in the car and that confidence. There was elements of the car that felt so familiar... I kind of just knew what it could do and what it was capable of.

"I'm not going to say it was easy or effortless, but I had a lot of confidence the car could do what it could do. Crossing the line, when I looked at the time, I was like, 'I don't know if I was expecting to go that quick'. I knew the day had potential to be a really good day, but I'd be lying if I said I was going to do that first lap with new tyres. That was kind of wild. It gave me a big smile."

Ricciardo managed just seven races for AlphaTauri this year after missing five with a hand injury, having replaced the struggling Nyck de Vries. The 34-year-old is now in a much better position ahead of the 2024 season.

Felix Keith