Christian Horner details key Daniel Ricciardo “influence” on Max Verstappen

Christian Horner believes Daniel Ricciardo had an important “influence” on Max Verstappen during their time as teammates at Red Bull.

Ricciardo and Verstappen spent close to three years as teammates between 2016 and 2018, with the duo widely regarded as the strongest pairing on the grid at the time.

With Verstappen joining Red Bull at just 18 years old, understandably, Ricciardo was the de facto team leader.

Despite clashing at the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix on-track, they maintained a strong relationship.

Verstappen spoke candidly about his friendship with Ricciardo after the Singapore Grand Prix, stating: “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.”

Shortly after the Singapore weekend, Ricciardo’s exit from F1 was announced, effectively calling time on his career in the sport.

Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Horner reflected on the impact Ricciardo had on the team - and his current star driver.

“I think actually Max learned a huge amount from him,” Horner said. “When Max came into the team, Max was very much the youngster, the young pup. He was a great influence on Max in that not take life too seriously and enjoy the moment.”

“He loved what he was doing. He felt very honoured to be a grand prix driver. Just some of the silly stuff he’d get up to.

“Whether it was taking a camera off one of the F1 cameramen and taking it into the Mercedes garage.

“It’s unheard of. I am surprised Toto didn’t eject him immediately as he was zooming in on their brake ducts and all the things we were interested in.

“He was a good singer, a good musician. He was never shy to have a go.”