Formula 1
Verstappen has "polished up" aggression, says Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo says former Formula 1 teammate Max Verstappen has "polished up" his aggression on track, but reckons his approach to battles with rivals remains unchanged.
Pablo Elizalde Alex Kalinauckas
Edited: Nov 30, 2021, 10:42 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Red Bull driver Verstappen is fighting for the championship for the first time this season, having won nine races to lead Lewis Hamilton by eight points ahead of the final two grands prix of the year.
The fight between the two title contenders has been extremely intense, clashing several times, including accidents at the British and Italian Grands Prix.
Verstappen's aggressive driving was back in the spotlight at the Brazilian GP earlier this month when he and Hamilton went off track as they battled for the lead of the race.
McLaren driver Ricciardo, who partnered Verstappen at Red Bull from 2016 to 2018 before leaving the team, believes the Dutchman's maturity has helped him avoid more incidents with rivals, but thinks the aggression is still there.
"I think in general, being his teammate, I don't know if I have any more knowledge than everyone watching from the outside, because I think teammate or not, we know Max, you know, the calibre of driving, how he races," said Ricciardo.
"I think he always came in with an aggressive approach, but I think he's certainly matured over time and certainly finds himself in less incidents or accidents as I feel he was in the first year or so in F1.
"So I think he's definitely polished up that aggression but still has it.
Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren MCL35M, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B
Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images
"I don't know, whether the move was right or wrong, you know, fighting for a win, and I guess the championship at this stage, you're obviously going to try and fight for as long as you can and do everything you can to hold onto that lead and obviously that one took them both off, so maybe that was over the limit.
"But yeah, I don't think anything has changed over time.
"As I said, since the first year I think he matured, but I think the last few years the approach hasn't changed and I think that's, in a way, what I've always respected, is you know you're going to get raced hard with Max."
Speaking about the Brazilian GP incident, Ricciardo said: "Was that too hard? I mean yeah, who knows, I'm going to stay out of it.
"They both went off track, so you could say it was too hard because no one made the corner, so you could say that, but I think the approach is unchanged."
Read Also:
- Ex-F1 racer recovers helmet that was stolen 23 years ago
- Sauber chairman opens up on disagreements that triggered resignation
- Hamilton: Wind tunnel gains mean no point in 2022 F1 car sim run
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Patrese: Racing for Sir Frank Williams was an “honor”
Next article Seidl: F1 doesn't need permanent stewards for consistent decisions
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Pablo Elizalde
Alpine becomes Pramac's main partner in MotoGP
MotoGP
MotoGP
Alpine becomes Pramac's main partner in MotoGP
Liberty Media's $4bn MotoGP deal facing EU probe
MotoGP
MotoGP
Liberty Media's $4bn MotoGP deal facing EU probe
Ocon wants answers to understand pace slump against Alpine team-mate
Formula 1
Formula 1
Ocon wants answers to understand pace slump against Alpine team-mate
More from
Max Verstappen
Did Max Verstappen already know the impact of Red Bull’s big upgrade when he signed his new deal?
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
4 h
Did Max Verstappen already know the impact of Red Bull’s big upgrade when he signed his new deal?
Why Max Verstappen escaped harsher penalty after FP1 collision in Portimao
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance 21 h
Why Max Verstappen escaped harsher penalty after FP1 collision in Portimao
Latest news
Christian Horner calls for F1 budget cap rethink: "Teams are spending $500 or $600m"
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
1 h
Christian Horner calls for F1 budget cap rethink: "Teams are spending $500 or $600m"
Phillip Island to remain in use despite MotoGP and WorldSBK departures
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
3 h
Phillip Island to remain in use despite MotoGP and WorldSBK departures
Did Max Verstappen already know the impact of Red Bull’s big upgrade when he signed his new deal?
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
4 h
Did Max Verstappen already know the impact of Red Bull’s big upgrade when he signed his new deal?
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe