Daniel Ricciardo has said that Max Verstappen is the strongest teammate he has raced with so far, with him getting to grips with his new relationship at McLaren with Lando Norris.

The Australian made another bold career switch for this season after leaving Renault for McLaren and, as things stand, it looks as though that was a decent call.

Whilst Alpine (the former Renault team) have been at the back end of the top 10 at best in the early stages this year, McLaren have been up towards the sharp end with Lando Norris earning a fine podium behind Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton at Imola last time out.

Indeed, Norris is impressing this season with a strong fourth place in the opening race in Bahrain also achieved, whilst he asked for Ricciardo to move out of the way at Imola as he had better race pace.

Of course, the Australian is still adapting to his new surroundings and he's bound to close the gap on Norris in the coming races so, as he gets to know the Briton better, his view may change on who his strongest teammate has been.

For now, though, Ricciardo remains of the opinion that Max is the fastest driver he has worked alongside, with him explaining that the extra time he has spent with the Dutchman is probably what is giving him the edge in the debate right now.

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"I have to say Max, but that's probably based off the fact I have more experience with him," Ricciardo told EFTMOnline, before admitting that he was impressed with his current teammate's performance at Imola.

"If we look at his last weekend, Lando has certainly raced very well."

Certainly, Norris is in front in the battle at McLaren, but that is perhaps to be expected with it his third year with the team this season.

Verstappen, meanwhile, is underlining his title-winning credentials this season as he takes the fight to Hamilton, with just a point between them ahead of this weekend's Portuguese Grand Prix.