Daniel Ricciardo & Carlos Sainz Poke Fun at the Trajectory of Their F1 Careers

Daniel Ricciardo and his McLaren F1 predecessor, Carlos Sainz, tagged together in the same room during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix press conference. What would you expect? We’d say Banters! Well, the duo lived up to our expectations as usual.

We’ve seen Ricciardo and Sainz sharing some hilarious moments in the past, with the two drivers taking jabs at each other. But that wasn’t the case this time around; Ricciardo and Sainz weren’t poking fun at each other but at themselves. It all started with a fan question.

What was the banter about?

As reported by Autosport on Twitter, a fan asked Ricciardo and Sainz about their relationship with other teams on the grid. One can understand the motive behind bringing up such a question considering the blow-out between Red Bull and Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen pretty much stuck amidst the heated rivalry.

Ricciardo, having driven for multiple teams since his F1 arrival, took a dig at himself. “I’ve driven for nearly all of them!” he said. Subsequently, Sainz, too, joined the conversation by replying, “Same for me! How many have you driven for?”

The Honey Badger froze for a moment and came up with the right answer. “I think five,” he said with a tinge of uncertainty. Sainz may have gone just a bit ahead of himself and thought this was a battle. “You beat me by one!” the Spaniard hilariously replied.

Which teams did Daniel Ricciardo and Carlos Sainz drive for?

Let’s start with the Honey Badger. Before joining McLaren, Ricciardo also drove for several other teams including Renault, Red Bull, Toro Rosso, and HRT, a rather underwhelming team that hardly ever competed for the top 15, let alone points.

Meanwhile, Sainz, before joining Ferrari, worked with McLaren, Renault, and Toro Rosso; pretty much the same as Ricciardo. Overall, Sainz may have lost this rather bizarre battle, but he is very much one of the prime candidates to secure the ‘best of the rest’ tag in the championship standings this season.

And the Saudi Arabian GP could well decide his fate! So, can the Spaniard pull off a stunning weekend in Jeddah to beat his own teammate, Charles Leclerc, and former teammate, Lando Norris, to P5 in the championship?

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