Sebastian Vettel looks to Ricciardo for help

DEFENDING Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel has been looking for guidance from teammate Daniel Ricciardo.

DEFENDING Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel has been looking for guidance from an unlikely source: teammate Daniel Ricciardo.

The German revealed ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix that he’s been studying the Australian’s data in the hope of understanding the pair’s contrasting results.

Ricciardo has outperformed Vettel in all but one race this season and sits nine points ahead of him in fourth on the drivers’ standings. While admitting he compared overlays “all the time”, the four-time title-winner said he couldn’t see a clear difference — unlike the latter stages of his partnership with Mark Webber. “You can’t say in a certain type of corner he’s gaining and losing in another,” Vettel said. “With Mark, I think it’s fair to say he was very, very good in high-speed corners — and show me the limits sometimes — but it’s fairly even, let’s say, around the lap with Daniel. But it’s good to see that and good to have a reference of what the car can do.

“If I look at myself, it hasn’t been the smoothest year.”

Red Bull boss Christian Horner said he had taken confidence out of Ricciardo’s third place in the Monaco GP.