F1 champion Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull snub blamed on career decline as Daniel Ricciardo left OUT in the cold

Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Social, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

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Vettel decline to blame for Red Bull snub as Ricciardo OUT in the cold

Max Verstappen tops list of greatest Red Bull drivers ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber

Kevin McKenna

Wednesday 21 August 2024 12:57

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Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo have both been criticised by a former Red Bull star during a discussion about their Formula 1 careers.

The pair enjoyed success at the current constructors' champions, and were team-mates during the 2014 season, with the Australian finishing two places ahead of his more experienced colleague in the drivers' standings.

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Vettel enjoyed a stellar career with the Milton Keynes-based outfit, winning four consecutive titles between 2010-2013, before going on to enjoy less successful periods at Ferrari and Aston Martin.

Ricciardo, meanwhile, was touted as a potential world champion during his five years spent at Red Bull during the early stages of his career, but subsequent moves to Renault and McLaren put paid to any title ambitions.

The Australian now races for 'junior team', RB, and despite failing to live up to expectations since joining the team in 2023, has been strongly linked with a shock return to Red Bull as a replacement for the struggling Sergio Perez.

Defending champion Max Verstappen is believed to be keen on linking up with his former team-mate once again, but team principal Christian Horner has ruled out any immediate changes to their line-up for now at least.

Sebastian Vettel won four world drivers' championships while at Red Bull

Daniel Ricciardo has been linked with a shock Red Bull return as a replacement for Sergio Perez

David Coulthard ranks Red Bull stars

Speaking to Motorsport.com, former Red Bull racer David Coulthard reflected on the duo's careers as he discussed the team's greatest-ever drivers, before selecting his top three.

Despite Vettel holding the upper hand - for now - over Verstappen in terms of championship wins, the German was pipped to the top spot, while Ricciardo was surprisingly omitted from the list altogether.

When asked to name his all-time Red Bull top three, the Scotsman joked: "That has to be Max, Max and Max.

"You can't take anything away from Seb's four world titles, but if you look at his career as a whole, Seb was no longer as impressive at the end as when he won his world titles.

Max Verstappen topped David Coulthard's list of Red Bull drivers

"Look at Michael Schumacher at Mercedes - he was also no longer as impressive in that period as he was in his Ferrari time.

"It shows that everyone has their own time, but I think it is obvious to put Max first... Seb is second with his four world titles.

"As for P3, I would say Mark Webber ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, because he was a more 'manly man' and Daniel a bit more of a 'boy man', so to speak.

"The latter is partly due to the fact that Webber did not let anyone walk all over him.

"Moreover... he had to compete with the then world champion for years, while Ricciardo preferred a lucrative departure to Renault to fighting with a Verstappen on the rise."