Daniel Ricciardo exit after Max Verstappen 'love affair' declared 'biggest Red Bull mistake'

Daniel Ricciardo not being afforded the same "love affair" as Max Verstappen at Red Bull is the "biggest mistake" the Milton Keynes-based squad has made in the past decade, according to Derek Daly.

The Irishman highlights how the lack of "respect" for the eight-time grand prix winner ultimately precipitated his departure for Renault in 2019, as part of an exclusive interview with RacingNews365.

Ricciardo, one of the most popular F1 drivers in recent memory, had supplanted Sebastian Vettel at the then four-time constructors' champions when Verstappen was elevated to the top team in 2016.

Whilst enjoying the measure of the young Dutchman at first, the tide had begun to turn by the end of the following campaign.

It became increasingly apparent that the now-four-time F1 drivers' champion was considered the heir to Vettel's throne. Ricciardo was gradually shuffled to the periphery and could see the way the wind was blowing, particularly when Verstappen was handed a vast pay increase as part of an extension to his existing contract with Red Bull.

However, Daly, who raced in F1 between 1978 and 1982, believes the team has suffered as a direct result of how it handled that period, pointing to how Ricciardo grew "tired" of the disparity in treatment.

Once the Australian left, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Liam Lawson, and now Yuki Tsunoda all immediately failed to make the grade - and there is no guarantee the lattermost driver retains his seat for 2026.

Only Sergio Perez, who was also ultimately relieved of his duties at the end of 2024, proved capable of taming the Red Bull second seat, but he was rarely on a par with Verstappen and also struggled considerably in his final two seasons. 

When that failed string of drivers is put to Daly and he is asked who should partner Verstappen next season, he speaks of the "instability" Ricciardo's departure catalysed. 

"So, I think it's a bigger picture," he replies, before expanding on his view. "When you have a love affair with someone like Max Verstappen, we now know there's a price to pay for that.

"And the price to pay for that appears to be team instability. The biggest mistake in the last 10 years that Red Bull made was to not respect Daniel Ricciardo, because when Daniel Ricciardo was there, he was the only one who truly had the strength to race at the highest levels against Max, be as fast as Max at times.

"But they didn't respect what he brought. They didn't treat him to the love affair they had with Max, and eventually, he tired of that."

Elaborating further, Daly underlines the "emotional support system" drivers require to extract the most performance from themselves, leaning upon historic examples to illustrate his point.

"Because athletes, I believe, need an emotional support system to operate at the highest levels," he adds. "I truly believe that.

"I think Max needs some of that, too. [Nigel] Mansell needed that. [Ayrton] Senna needed that. [Michael] Schumacher manufactured it at Ferrari by saying: 'This is how the team will operate' until he had everything he wanted.

"And so when they got rid of Ricciardo, boom! The instability was built in right there."

Addressing again that ingrained "instability", Daly suggests failing to keep Ricciardo was the seed that blossomed into the very reason former team principal Christian Horner was put out to pasture after two decades at the helm.

"And so that was a costly mistake; maybe that mistake was part of why Christian Horner got fired at the end, because that was the anchor to the instability, and from then on, that [stability] never occurred," he added.

"So maybe they start to recover with two fresh faces after Max leaves in 2027," Daly concluded, sharing his opinion that Verstappen will leave the team before the end of his current deal.