Max Verstappen: Daniel Ricciardo shouldn't "feel sorry for himself" amid unclear future

Max Verstappen has told Daniel Ricciardo that he shouldn’t “feel sorry for himself” amid intense speculation around his F1 future.

Ahead of this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, Ricciardo’s future at VCARB has been a hot topic with some claims it could be his final race with the team.

Ricciardo has admitted he might lose his drive mid-season when talking to Sky Sports F1 on Thursday in Singapore.

Verstappen, who has remained good friends with Ricciardo since their time as teammates at Red Bull between 2016 and 2018 - believes the Australian should be proud of what he has achieved in his F1 career.

“Daniel’s a great guy. I think he has proven himself as a great F1 driver,” Verstappen said in the FIA press conference. 

“He’s a friend of mine. I think, in general, always being in this kind of position is never nice. I don’t think he has to feel sorry for himself. Sometimes things may not work out the way you want them to in certain stages of your career but you still have achieved a lot - more than anyone could ever dream of in their lives.

“Even if this is the last race or whatever, you can still look back at something amazing that not many people can achieve and do something else maybe in life. Why not? Many more other race series or not.

“Maybe just chill back at the farm, have a lot of fun. He’s a great guy. It doesn’t really matter or not if you deserve to be here. A lot of people deserve to be here. Some don’t deserve to be here - that’s life. That’s how it is in all kinds of sports.”

If Ricciardo is replaced at VCARB, Liam Lawson is expected to get the call-up.

Ricciardo’s teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, also gave his views on Ricciardo’s situation.

Tsunoda added: “I think the same as Max. Like I said, I respect him a lot. We will see how it goes.

“I like him. We all want to see him racing as well. It doesn’t matter if he deserves or not. Like Max says, he achieved a lot of things. Let’s see.”