Lewis Hamilton Really Wants Daniel Ricciardo As His Teammate

Three time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton has admitted that it would be a “privilege” to have current Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo as a teammate in the future.

Still under contract with Red Bull until the end of next season, Ricciardo could jump ship to Mercedes if the German team decides to split the current pairing of Hamilton and Bottas.

“Daniel is a fantastic driver, it would be a privilege to race against him,” said Hamilton during an interview with Autosport. “He’s a great character, he always brings a lot of positivity within his team.”

Hamilton was addressing something that Ricciardo had previously said, namely that he would like to race against the Mercedes driver in the same equipment before Hamilton exits his prime.

“I think it’s interesting, I think it’s cool, I take the compliment that people say they [want to race against me],” added Hamilton. “I don’t truly necessarily believe that people want to be up alongside me, because that is not always necessarily the best thing for an individual. But in some cases, it could be a really good thing because it can help you grow.”

Hamilton also acknowledges that Ricciardo must first win his fight against his current teammate, Max Verstappen, before focusing on something else.

“You look at Daniel, he’s got a great driver in his teammate, and to be honest, he has to really work to outperform him first. You’ve always got to beat the person you’re with first before you can look at competing against someone else and beating them – that’s just my personal opinion.”

Another very interesting nugget of information revealed by Hamilton was related to the best driver he’s ever raced against, and to no surprise, it’s another former champion.

“I already feel like I’ve raced against the best here, which in my personal opinion is Fernando [Alonso].”