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Red Bull boss Christian Horner believes that starting driver Daniel Ricciardo is now the best Formula 1 overtaker.
To mark Ricciardo's last outing for Red Bull before leaving for Renault at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last Sunday, the team kept an honor guard as they walked from the hospitality team to the garage before the race.
On the slower lap, Horner paid him a sincere tribute on the radio, emphasizing the seven wins and the "good times" they shared.
Ricciardo has developed a reputation as one of the toughest F1 drivers in his time at Red Bull, winning many of his victories with charges across the field on alternative strategies or adversity.
Horner admitted that it was ironic that Ricciardo's racing ability had been a concern when Red Bull was trying to decide who would replace Mark Webber, who was retiring, for 2014.
"It has been a pleasure to have him on the team for the last five years," Horner said when asked about his farewell message to Ricciardo from Autosport.
"He's been at Red Bull since 2007, and it's been great to see him grow and evolve.
"Ironically, when we faced the dilemma of who we replaced Mark Webber, there was Jean-Eric Vergne, there was Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Raikkonen.
"And our biggest concern with Daniel was not his pace, we did not see him running from wheel to wheel while he was on a Toro Rosso.
"And since he got into a Red Bull Racing car, he did nothing more than overtake, and no doubt has become the best overtaker in the industry.
"He's led some fantastic races for us."
Ricciardo had been backed by Red Bull through his monopoly career, and initially placed him in F1 with HRT in mid-2011 before giving him two seasons at Toro Rosso.
He admitted before Abu Dhabi that leaving the Red Bull family was extremely exciting, but it was a change he felt he had to make because "I had to go it alone and make my own decision.I had to take that step to try to be the best version of me ".
Horner said Ricciardo was the ideal Red Bull driver.
"His personality has been a tremendous fit with the brand," he said.
"His energy in the team has been very popular, the momentum with him and Max [Verstappen], you just have to look at the evil they do – it's been great. "
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