Ricciardo’s bizarre rivalry with former teammate Verstappen

Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen are seemingly the odd couple of the Formula One grid but maybe that’s why it works.

From a bitter rivalry when they were on the same team to a blossoming friendship now apart, Aussie Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen are two men following their own path in F1.

Ricciardo has long been the larrikin of the F1 grid, giving honest, often hilarious interviews and just being his genuine self whenever he steps in front of the camera.

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But his burning desire has always been to win an F1 World Championship.

It’s put him in direct competition with Verstappen.

Verstappen was the boy who would be king. He became the youngest ever full-time driver in F1 history when he debuted at the age of 17 years and 166 days with a mountain of pressure to one day claim the world title.

Now in his seventh year in F1, Verstappen appears to realistically be the only driver on the grid who could challenge seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton for the title this year, while Red Bull will be hoping the Dutchman can guide them to the top of the constructors’ standings in the near future.

But while the racing is fierce on the track, the pair have built a great bond off the track.

Things have got a bit easier now they’re apart.

Ricciardo and Verstappen: the dream pairing

Verstappen replaced Russia’s Daniil Kvyat as Ricciardo’s teammate early in the 2016 season, and immediately found success by winning that year’s Spanish Grand Prix.

But the Australian comfortably won the qualifying battle with his new partner 11-6 in 2016 and outscored Verstappen 220 points to 191.

The Dutch youngster started showing his pace in 2017 by out-qualifying Ricciardo 13-7, but the more experienced man was still better on Sunday, claiming 200 points to Verstappen’s 168.

But an ugly incident in Budapest ended the honeymoon period between the pairing.

‘Sore loser’: Chaos in Budapest

Ricciardo dramatically crashed out of the 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix after colliding with Verstappen on the opening lap.

The Aussie started the race in sixth — one place behind Verstappen — but after passing the Dutchman on the second corner the youngster rammed into Ricciardo’s car, and it was game over.

Ricciardo was furious, slamming the move as “amateur” and calling Verstappen a “f***ing sore loser”.

Reflecting on the incident, the West Australian said he was in no mood for niceties at the Hungaroring.

“It was a whole lot of adrenaline and anger … and not through my fault,” Ricciardo said in an interview with ESPN.

“The marshal was pulling me off the track saying, ‘Come on, you’ve got to get off the track’, and I was like, ‘Don’t touch me.’

“I purposely wanted to wait until Max came around so I could give him the bird.

“I wanted to do more. I wanted to throw my helmet at him, but I’m a good sport, I don’t do those things!”

Sadly, it wasn’t the only collision between the Red Bull duo.

Baku: the beginning of the end

This did not end well.

Verstappen and Ricciardo were both knocked out of the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix after inexplicably ramming into one another on a straight.

On the longest and fastest straight on the Formula One calendar, Ricciardo lined up his overtake in the battle for fourth.

But as Verstappen moved to his left to cover off his teammate, Ricciardo was left with little room for manoeuvre and thudded into the back of him. In an instant, both cars were wiped out of the race.

What made matters worse was that there were just 11 laps to go.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner demanded the pair apologise to Red Bull’s 800-strong staff for the crash.

Ultimately, it was one of the reasons that Ricciardo decided to move on from the team.

Ricciardo told his side of the story on the F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast revealing he was furious about the team strategy which had allowed Verstappen to go out ahead of him after pitting when the Aussie had already earned the position ahead of the Dutchman.

Ricciardo was then asked if it was from that crash and his bitterness towards the team that ultimately led him to decide it was time to move on.

“Certainly the week after that yeah, I decided in my mind that I need to move on,” Ricciardo said.

“But then you go Monaco a month later and I have the highest of highs and I’m like ‘I was just emotional in Baku’. But for sure Baku was a tough one for me too move on from.”

Max dominates in 2018

Ricciardo began to become the sidekick.

After Ricciardo’s victory at the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix, Verstappen out-qualified him 11 times in a row to win that battle 15-3 with an average qualifying advantage of 0.131 seconds.

Ricciardo eventually slipped to sixth in the championship — 79 points behind Verstappen — despite winning two of the season’s first six races.

But the Aussie later defended his record, citing reliability problems — his car broke down eight times — and other issues he wouldn’t go into as contributing factors to the underwhelming results.

“I am happy with how I’ve been this year, and I certainly feel that the points and the qualifying tally don’t show the true picture,” Ricciardo said at the time.

“I don’t want to take the credit away from Max because he is getting better every year, and he’s a top-level driver.

“There is no doubt that he is extremely fast and he’s not easy to beat on any day.

“But even on those days where he has out-qualified me, I’ve still been comfortable with that and most of the time I’ve understood why.”

Bye, Bye Danny

Becoming increasingly frustrated with Red Bull’s preferential treatment of Verstappen, Ricciardo stunned the F1 world by jumping ship and signing with Renault ahead of the 2019 season.

Verstappen farewell Ricciardo with a heartfelt Twitter post.

.@danielricciardo, it was great having you as a teammate on and off the track. I'll see you soon, let the good times roll 👊🏻 #CheersDanpic.twitter.com/O5SgtNAfRe

— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) November 25, 2018

Ricciardo had no hard feelings either.

“I don’t necessarily think Max was political. Max is just Max,” he said. “Even now it is done and I don’t need to be careful with what I say, it was actually pretty good.

“Look, some of the flamboyancy with Max, that is just with age as well, and I guess from that point of view I would expect less with (Renault teammate) Nico (Hulkenberg) just because it is a bit of an age gap and maturity.

“Nico has been around the block plenty of times. But going back to Max ... I don’t think he was political. It was fun.”

But Red Bull kept firing shots at Ricciardo, including in the first season of Netflix’s Drive to Survive when Horner accused the Aussie of “running from a fight”, a claim Ricciardo denied.

Red Bull subsequently signed French driver Pierre Gasly as Ricciardo’s replacement, who failed to meet expectations before being replaced by Alex Albon.

While Ricciardo’s former seat appeared to be a poisoned chalice, Verstappen established himself as the only competition to the might of Mercedes.

The Dutchman has registered five wins and 20 podiums in the two seasons at Red Bull after Ricciardo left, and regularly challenges Hamilton for pole position.

Meanwhile, Ricciardo endured a horror 2019 at Renault, finishing ninth on the drivers’ standings in his maiden season.

They’ve come a long way since the Red Bull days.

The Aussie quickly decided to switched teams again, signing for McLaren ahead of the 2021 season.

His 2020 season saw Ricciardo return to the podium twice.

But off the track, Ricciardo and Verstappen’s bond has hit new levels.

Despite the messy break up, the pair appear to be better friends than ever, showing their banter in 2019 at Singapore during a Sky Sports cross.

The pair also caught a private jet back to Monaco after the Hungarian Grand Prix last season, taking to Instagram for a happy snap.

Ricciardo said moving to another team had actually made him closer to Verstappen.

“It’s easier now for me and Max to be friends for two reasons,” Ricciardo said.

“One is that obviously we’re not in direct competition – we’re not trying to basically end each other’s careers.

“The second point is that … I won races with him as a teammate and got pole position so I think he always knew I was quick and respected me.

“But now, since I’ve left, the other drivers have come through and him having different teammates, it’s probably increased his respect for me even more.

“I mean we never hated each other, we just wanted to end each other’s careers! It’s as simple as that.”

How can I watch the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix?

The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix will be shown live and exclusively on Foxtel and streaming platform Kayo.

When is Practice?

The schedule for this weekend’s action in Imola has been adjusted slightly a mark of respect for the funeral of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip.

Two practice sessions took place on Friday, with another on Saturday before Qualifying.

Practice 3 — Saturday, April 17 at 7pm AEST

When is Qualifying?

Qualifying will determine the grid order for Sunday’s race — Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas secured pole position in 2020.

Qualifying — Saturday, April 17 at 10pm AEST.

When is the Race?

The main event will start on Sunday, April 18 with lights out at 11pm AEST.

What’s the track like?

Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari is located in the Italian town Imola. The 4.9km track features 19 turns and one DRS zone, located on the exit of the final corner.