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Max Verstappen Would Rather Trust His Own Work Than Daniel Ricciardo’s Hours on the Sim

Published 01/29/2023, 5:00 AM EST

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After two bitter-sweet years at McLaren, Daniel Ricciardo has finally returned to Red Bull. Despite the return not being as impressive as it might sound, the Australian will still be on a major role at the Milton-Keynes-based team. Starting from Red Bull’s reserve driver, and simulator driver, as well as the man to take control of Red Bull F1 shows all around the world, Ricciardo has enormous tasks at his disposal. However, there’s one thing he might not have to worry about next season and that is helping Max Verstappen with simulation.

Verstappen, the reigning F1 champion, has recently stated that he doesn’t want the Red Bull test driver, that is Ricciardo, to do the sim work for him. As per Speedweek.com, the Dutchman shared about his preference and simulator at Red Bull, “I think our simulator is one of the best in the industry. We feed in data from the vehicle that we collected on the racetrack. Of course, the congruence between simulation and reality is not perfect.”

via Reuters

The days are very long, but I am convinced that this work is worth it. I also don’t want a test driver to take care of the simulation like other racing teams do. I want to do it myself, because everyone has their own driving style,” further stated the 25-year-old driver.

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As for Daniel Ricciardo, he now has to look after the rest of the simulation work and, most importantly, the three races in the United States. The Honey Badger, who is very popular in the North American country, can expect his team to exploit his American stardom to their advantage.

After Max Verstappen, Red Bull’s decision has proved to be a colossal blow for Daniel Ricciardo

As Max Verstappen has already mentioned about not being interested in Daniel Ricciardo’s simulation statistics, his team Red Bull dealt another blow for the Australian. Ricciardo, who arrived at the Austrian team and was given the role of a reserve driver, is all set to miss an important opportunity coming up next week.

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Red Bull to run a 2011-spec car in a special demonstration around the ever-popular Mount Panorama Circuit during the 12-hour weekend. As the announcements were made, it was believed that the Honey Badger could make a worthwhile appearance on his home soil.

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Much to the former McLaren driver’s disappointment, the higher-ups of the defending constructors champions decided in favor of Liam Lawson. Lawson, who is bound for Super Formula, has also been a testing driver for Red Bull off late.

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WATCH THIS STORY: Struggling ‘Honey Badger’ Daniel Ricciardo Once Dominated the Streets of Azerbaijan in Glorious 2017

Lawson, the New Zealander, will drive V8 powered RB7 between two sessions of the 12-hour Bathurst qualifying. The 2023 Bathurst is all set to run from February 3 to February 5.

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Written by:

Sabyasachi Biswas

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Sabyasachi Biswas is an F1 and NASCAR writer at EssentiallySports. He has completed his Master's in Mass Communication and Journalism from Jadavpur University, Kolkata. Sabyasachi is an ardent Red Bull and Max Verstappen fan and has been following the sport for over a decade now.
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Edited by:

Varunkumaar Chelladurai