Red Bull boss Christian Horner warned Lewis Hamilton it would be "foolish" to underestimate the "phenomenal" Daniel Ricciardo in the 2018 Formula One next season.
Hamilton was quoted in Motor Sport Magazine as saying himself, Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso are the strongest drivers in the sport.
Red Bull team principal Horner thinks Ricciardo deserved to be mentioned by the world champion.
"Lewis would be very foolish to underestimate Daniel," Horner told Sky Sports News.
"He's a phenomenal driver, he's arguably the best overtaker in the business. He's driven some great races this year and some great races in his time at Red Bull.
"This one hurts more than the others"
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 26, 2017
The final race of 2017 was one to forget for @danielricciardo#AbuDhabiGP #F1Finale pic.twitter.com/GtZM53wSr3
"He's absolutely ready for a championship challenge if we can provide him with the tools to do the job."
Horner rates the Australian and Verstappen as the best pairing in the business.
"I'm really excited that we've got the strongest driver pairing in Formula 1," added Horner.
"Max and Daniel, they push each other to such high limits and that's tremendously exciting for us."