Daniel Ricciardo took "a lot of s**t" from Helmut Marko as the Australian opened up on his relationship with the Red Bull chief.
Ricciardo spent five seasons with Red Bull after impressing in his early stints in Formula 1 driving for HRT and the sister team Toro Rosso. Initially he played second-fiddle to four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel before a stint as top dog compared to Daniil Kvyat.
It was when he was later partnered by Max Verstappen that things started to change for the Aussie. A crash between them at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix signalled the beginning of the end for Ricciardo, who could see that his young Dutch team-mate was being groomed as the future of the team while he felt he was going stale.
So he took the plunge and left for Renault. Despite some success with the French team, he was not able to compete for race wins like he wanted and so, after two seasons, he decided the best thing to do was to jump ship again for a McLaren team which was performing better.
But again it has not been plain sailing for Ricciardo, who is still yet to fully settle in and adapt to his car 18 months after making the move. Other than the obvious victory in the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, success has largely eluded the 33-year-old while British team-mate Lando Norris continues to thrive.
Despite those struggles, though, Ricciardo revealed that Red Bull advisor Marko still treats him the same way and that there are no hard feeling left over from his departure from the team. "Helmut gave me a lot of s**t over the years, so didn't need to sit down... after I left, there was no need for that anymore," he said.
"I would say obviously I have less interactions with Helmut these days, but of course I would say the relationship is still the same. It's very honest, very Helmut. My admiration, or respect, for the man has remained unchanged. He's a good guy. So no 'I told you so'. That's part of the sport. And we'll move on."
Ricciardo's future with McLaren has been the subject of much scrutiny of late, amid his struggle to regularly score good points for the team. He is contracted until the end of the 2023 season, but speculation has suggested they could part ways before then, with IndyCar star Colton Herta potentially being lined up to replace him.
But in a defiant message on social media, the Aussie told fans: "There have been a lot of rumours around my future in Formula 1, but I want you to hear it from me. I am committed to McLaren until the end of next year and am not walking away from the sport. Appreciate it hasn't always been easy, but who wants easy! I'm working my a*s off with the team to make improvements and get the car right and back to the front where it belongs. I still want this more than ever."
