David Coulthard names his top three Red Bull drivers

Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo compared by David Coulthard

David Coulthard
David Coulthard

David Coulthard has ranked his top three Red Bull F1 drivers.

Coulthard was Red Bull’s first driver when they entered Formula 1 in 2005, with Vitantonio Liuzzi and Christian Klien sharing duties as his teammate.

Since those days, Red Bull have won four drivers’ titles through Sebastian Vettel while Max Verstappen is on course for his fourth this year.

F1 veteran Coulthard, now an ambassador for the team, was asked to name the top three drivers in Red Bull’s history.

"That has to be Max, Max and Max,” he teased to Motorsport.

He added: "You can't take anything away from Seb's four world titles.

“But if you look at his career as a whole, Seb wasn't as impressive at the end as he was when he won his world titles.

“Look at Michael Schumacher at Mercedes, he too was not as impressive in that period as he was in his Ferrari days.

“It shows that everyone has their own time, but I think it's obvious to put Max first.

"Seb is second with his four world titles.”

Vettel, after leaving his dominant period with Red Bull, signed a mega-money deal with Ferrari.

But the German was never able to replicate his success with the famous Italian manufacturer.

Webber rated better than Ricciardo

Coulthard selected Mark Webber above Daniel Ricciardo as Red Bull’s third-best driver.

"In terms of P3, I would say Mark Webber ahead of Daniel Ricciardo,” he said.

“The latter is partly related to the fact that Webber did not let himself be walked over, and bit back with ‘not bad for a No2 driver’.”

Australian driver Webber hit out at Red Bull via team radio in the immediate aftermath of winning the 2010 British Grand Prix.

“Not bad for a No2 driver,” he sarcastically said, annoyed at his treatment compared to teammate Vettel at Silverstone.

Webber drove for Red Bull for seven seasons, and finished third in the F1 championship on three occasions.

His compatriot Ricciardo also finished third in the championship, on two occasions, when driving for Red Bull.

Ricciardo is angling for a switch back into the team next season but that depends on whether their faith in Sergio Perez runs out.

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