AUSTRALIAN Formula One star Daniel Ricciardo says the hype surrounding his young Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen can only be good for his own reputation. Verstappen emerged as the new star of F1 after joining Red Bull earlier this year, producing some incredible performances including a standout race in the rain in Brazil. But Ricciardo recorded more points — and out-qualified Verstappen more often — after they joined forces, suggesting the Aussie isn’t such a bad talent himself.
“The way that I see it, it is quite cool — because the more highly regarded he is, then if I can go out next year and beat him, it doesn’t make me look bad,” Ricciardo told motorsport.com.
“If everyone was saying he was crap and he doesn’t deserve the seat, and I am just managing to beat him, then it doesn’t make me look very good.”
“So, I would say he is twice as good as Senna,” the Aussie joked.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner believes the duo can avoid the bad blood which has plagued several star pairings over the years if they challenge for the drivers’ championship in 2017.
“The most important thing is there is respect,” Horner told Autosport. “We don’t ask drivers to go out to dinner with each other but ask that they respect each other and respect the team.
“The two have done exactly that and the fact that their relationship goes beyond that is only a benefit to us. Daniel in many ways has almost been like an older brother to Max.”
Horner said there were many similarities between the pair, leaving him confident Red Bull was ready to present a new challenge to the dominant Mercedes outfit.
“Their feedback is very similar, the demands from the car are very similar,” he said. “Very often when you’re listening in, in qualifying or the race, the comments about the car are almost identical so for the designers and R&D guys it’s a great scenario to have both drivers chasing the same thing.”
Stealing the spotlight: Max Verstappen is surrounded by incredible hype.Source:Getty Images
Ricciardo managed a third-placed overall finish behind champion Nico Rosberg and fellow Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton — and rated his season a success.
“If I didn’t have a victory, if Malaysia had not have happened, then I would look back and say that I should have been a multiple race winner this year,” he told motorsport.com.
“But because I have got that victory, I am not going to say it should have been better.
“I got the pole, which I hadn’t had before, and got back on the top step — so that is awesome. And peasants’ champion — so it has been solid.
“We expected to be fighting in the midfield the first handful of races this year, then we came out with some fourths — and then what was probably going to be second in China, that was third race of the year, we had the puncture, but it was looking really good. Then it got better.
“The win in Malaysia was epic, but the pole in Monaco was, in a way, my highlight. I didn’t tell people, but I put a lot of pressure on myself to go there that weekend, and execute it. I really believed I could. So for me to do that lap was a relief, because I did put pressure on myself.”