Credit: IMAGO / HochZwei

Rivals on track, friends away from it. That’s what the relationship between F1 drivers looks like. This friendship was way different back in the day despite F1 being as cutthroat as it is now. Yet, a driver would never accept their own fault, even if they crashed with a friend. However, Daniel Ricciardo seemingly made Max Verstappen regret their infamous crash in Azerbaijan, from six years ago.

The Honey Badger uploaded a montage from the recently concluded Spanish GP weekend. The video had moments with his friends including Yuki Tsunoda, Marc Marquez, and the three-time F1 champion. It was captioned “Patatas Bravas”, which means “Spicy Potatoes” in Spanish.

“I’ve been meaning to tell you, Baku was my fault. I’m sorry. You’re my everything”, the captions read when Verstappen appeared in the video. However, it is fair to assume that Ricciardo took some liberty while making the translations as Verstappen was speaking in Dutch.

What Verstappen actually said was revealed at the end of the video. “We’re here in Barcelona, with this hor*y man Daniel. And he’s gonna steal lots of women’s hearts this weekend”. 

At the 2018 Azerbaijan GP, the two of them were fighting neck to neck for a good chunk of the race. After going back and forth a few times, they crashed; Ricciardo into the back of Verstappen’s car, ending both their races. Both were upset and although not a direct consequence of the crash, Ricciardo left the Milton-Keynes-based outfit at the end of the season.

Still, in their two years together as teammates, Ricciardo and Verstappen developed a strong bond. Named ‘Maxiel’ by fans, they were the definition of bromance back in the day. Now that Ricciardo is a part of the Red Bull family once again, Maxiel is seemingly back.

Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo’s bromance is adored by fans 

Verstappen and Ricciardo reuniting as Maxiel was very well received by the F1 community. A lot of fans took notice of Ricciardo’s cheeky attempt at twisting Verstappen’s words, and shared hilarious reactions when they learned the real meaning of the Dutch driver’s lines.

Some commented on Ricciardo captioning Verstappen suggesting that the Honey badger is a great fan fiction writer for the Dutchman.

Others hailed Verstappen and Ricciardo’s bromance as marriage.

However, they believe that the two married during their Red Bull days and never filed for a divorce. Hence, they are back together.