Max Verstappen & Daniel Ricciardo’s Bromance Back to Life Amidst Impending Red Bull Change

Stans of the Max Verstappen-Daniel Ricciardo bromance, begin rejoicing. The duo might become teammates again after the Aussie’s Red Bull exit 6 years ago. But no, we aren’t talking about F1. At the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where Red Bull is celebrating its 20th F1 anniversary, Verstappen expressed his desire to race alongside Ricciardo in the same car. However, the timing of this innocent remark is ominous, considering current teammate Sergio Perez’s poor form.

In its 31-year history, for the first time, the Goodwood Festival of Speed is celebrating an F1 team on such a large scale. Red Bull’s greats across generations did the Goodwood Hillclimb on Sunday. From their oldest driver pairing of David Coulthard and Christian Klien to the current pairing of Verstappen and Perez, it was a grand celebration. Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo, 9-time and 8-time Grand Prix winners, were also present. Not just the drivers, team boss Christian Horner and ex-CTO Adrian Newey also participated.

After taking the wheel of his 2021 championship-winning RB16B, Verstappen was questioned about his interest in the Goodwood Revival by Karun Chandhok. “I’ve seen Adrian do it. Most of the time, I think, he is driving the car a bit illegally. He’s tuning it himself,” the Dutch joked as the crowd laughed. “I think they have a bit more grip than other cars around.”

The 3-time champion then said how he could team up with Ricciardo, standing next to him. “We will give it a go together with Daniel. It will be good fun in one car.” This was music to Chandhok’s ears. “Oh, you two can be teammates! Imagine that – Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo in the RAC TT (Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy). Where’s the Duke?” he questioned, looking around for the Duke of Richmond, who founded the Goodwood FOS. “We need to get this sorted out. This is going to be amazing,” Chandhok further added, as Perez, standing next to them, also smiled.

Perez is under immense pressure to prove his worth or be replaced by Ricciardo mid-season. This moment of amusement might’ve pricked him deep down. But if it’s any consolation, the current Red Bull duo was voted ‘best couple’ this week.

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez bag MTV’s ‘Couple Goals’ award

For the last 6 races, Sergio Perez has been massively struggling to get anywhere near Max Verstappen on the timesheets. This is reducing Red Bull’s lead in the constructors championship with rivals McLaren and Mercedes fighting for wins. But the duo’s off-track relationship remains intact.

The Mexican and the Dutchman’s duo is loved immensely by fans across the globe. Glimpses of their underrated camaraderie are seen during Red Bull’s marketing promotions as they make fun of each other. For this, they were nominated under the ‘Couple Goals’ category in the MTV Miaw Awards. Lovingly promoted by their couple name ‘Chestappen’ (Sergio Perez is also called Checo), they even won the award.

Maybe Perez and Ricciardo’s presence at Goodwood also uplifted Verstappen’s spirits. The Dutchman wasn’t keen to participate at the FOS during his only weekend off from F1 between the triple-header and the upcoming Hungary-Belgium double-header. But all things aside, this weekend at Goodwood was a historic one for the entire Red Bull family.