Daniel Ricciardo has admitted that he would love to have Lewis Hamilton as a teammate in Formula One, and if that was ever the case, he is confident that he would be able to beat the three time world champion in a fair fight.
Speaking in a candid interview with the Australian press while he is home in Perth relaxing before the 2017 season gets underway, Daniel admitted that he was definitely not going to fill the vacant seat at Mercedes, despite his desire and will remain with Red Bull until the end of the 2018 season.
“It's something that I've been asked a few times - who would you love as a team-mate and all that - and Lewis was one that I was always saying," Ricciardo told The Age. "Obviously I think that he is massively talented and I think we would have a good fight, and, yeah, I'd have confidence that I could get the job done."
So would a pairing of Ricciardo and Hamilton actually work? Fans will remember the volatile relationship between Hamilton and Alonso when they both raced for McLaren at the beginning of Hamilton’s F1 career, and the battles between the Brit and 2016 title winner, Nico Rosberg, were very well documented over the course of their partnership.
That said however, while friendly when their paths cross in the F1 paddock, Ricciardo admitted that there is no relationship between the duo off track….
"He's never had anything bad to say about me. He's always been nice to me, but sure he has days where he likes to keep to himself. Some days we'll chat and other days we won't and that's just that. I've made a few friends in the sport, but it's not our primary purpose of being here so I'm not expecting him to call me and he's not expecting the same from me. It's just how it is, he's got his own things going on. He's sort of doing his thing really."
As a side note, Daniel is not in the running for the vacant seat, instead Williams driver Valtteri Bottas is said to be their number one choice.
