Although on paper it looked as though Daniil Kvyat had the wood over Daniel Ricciardo last season, simply finishing the year with more points didn’t tell the whole story.
While some were ready to write off the Australian, Red Bull’s management team knew exactly who was faster and understood that the tail end of his season had been sacrificed testing engine development for this year.
This understanding was clearly demonstrated earlier this season when Kvyat was unceremoniously demoted to the junior team for Max Verstappen, hardly the actions of a team that truly thought Ricciardo was a spent force.
Since going head-to-head with Ricciardo at Red Bull, Verstappen’s performances have been for the most part extremely promising. From the unlikely victory in his first race after being promoted, his talent was apparent and future success undeniable.
Ricciardo holds a narrow lead over his teammate in the championship standings at the moment, however since they became teammates Verstappen has claimed 77 points versus Daniel’s 64.
Yet again things look grim on paper.
Certainly this weekend is the time for Ricciardo to strike back if he is to retain any kind of presence within the team, especially one that runs of momentum and success like Red Bull.
There were no shortage of F1 publications pointing out that for the first time Verstappen out-qualified Ricciardo at the British GP. The margin was close, just three tenths, but it was during the race that Max left Ricciardo behind, pressuring and even overtaking one of the Mercedes, a rare feat in recent years that has proven difficult for the most accomplished drivers.
Britain was the first, and truly only race so far that Verstappen has beaten Ricciardo. As tempting as it is to assume the support within the team has shifted to the Dutchman’s side of the garage, it’s crucial to remember that one race does not a driver make.
In Monaco, for example, Ricciardo was truly in a class of his own. From taking pole in dry conditions, to building a lead in the wet, even the Mercedes team at full capacity shouldn’t have been able to touch him and we all know what really cost Daniel victory.
In Spain Ricciardo lead the race comfortably and should have gone on to win after the Mercedes’ drivers wiped each other out, but again the team’s strategy hung Ricciardo out to dry.
Anyone who has even examined a detailed breakdown of lap data from a race knows that it’s a hodge-podge of scrambled positions, missed opportunities and muddled intentions. Races like Monaco make the story a lot clearer, while Ricciardo was on pole and lead the race Verstappen was all at sea, clipping the walls in qualifying and the race.
He couldn’t have looked less comfortable in the car if he’d left a coat-hanger down the back of his racesuit.
Despite Verstappen claiming his first qualifying success over Ricciardo in the last race, we should remember the other five notches on Ricciardo’s belt. One, Monaco, saw Ricciardo starting on pole while Verstappen was at the other extreme of the grid and at two others, the European Grand Prix and Austrian Grand Prix, Ricciardo was over one second quicker.
I’m as excited about the potential of Verstappen as anyone, but by setting things in context we get to the truth of the matter: Verstappen is not a complete driver.
Not yet anyway, and to be the best you have to beat the best. This weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix will give the two another chance to push both Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg to the limit, and as the stakes are raised so too is the pressure on both of them to be the one in front at the end of the year.
TumbleGrump
Guest
I 100% agree!!! I even think he would give Hamilton a run for his money!
LH
Guest
Except that for all the stats you show there, there is of course the law of diminishing returns - Ricciardo hasn't improved as much as Verstappen because he has been pushing the car to its limits all season, while Vertsappen is still getting on top of it. I'd wager you put Ricciardo in the Mercedes and he'll be between 0.5 to 1.0 second faster per lap than he is in the RedBull, but probably slower than Hamilton and would show a bigger % improvement than Hamilton over a few races as he came to grips with the car.
TumbleGrump
Guest
Rodney; telegraaf.nl ; blow for Max Verstappen, his dad, jos Verstappen beated up max verstappen's grandpa (Jos his dad) very badly after the Hungarian Grand Prix. Not covered yet internationally.
Rodney Gordon
Expert
I'm really not sure where you are going with this "unequal engines" argument. Are you suggesting Max deliberately crashed? That he didn't want to even try? I frankly don't believe that for one second.
Roxtone
Guest
... like I said, Rodney, Max not overly interested due unequal engines, searching the limit of the chassis, which he clearly found, still setting most incredible round-times before he did find that wall indeed (; or it mustve been the just lost love that played him up ...
Marty
Guest
Indeed Rodney, If you would take the time it cost to make a pit stop away, and use the times per round on old tires (not even calculated a lighter car); Ricciardo would have finished far before verstappen, but behind vetel. But his race style in dirty air does call for a higher pit stop strategy than Verstappen. Verstappen is (besides Silverstone) NOT faster than Ricciardo, however Verstappen has a MUCH higher/better tyre management vs. speed. (See also Ricciardo's history) Ricciardo is a different type of racer with more pace than Verstappen. (For now) I have to say that Verstappen is very calculated, and I do not agree that he is not a complete driver. For sure there is still a whole lot to learn, but he is pretty good if it comes to completeness. Ricciardo's weakness is tyre management under pressure. But I do believe he is a much more complete driver than Verstappen is right now. Of course behind the smile is frustration about an unknown force like Verstappen + media attention. He needs to stay cool and will surprise next year with an iron fist to all competitors. RB's weak points are engine power & tyre degradation on faster tracks. Just because of the last, Verstappen will shine a little more this year. Next year with a more complete car designed ALSO for higher power performance, the tyre management will become way less important, and Ricciardo's speed will lead him to wins and hopefully a world title with MV second. (I hope)
Rodney Gordon
Expert
When the drivers who did two stops (Verstappen and Raikkonen) jump the two drivers ahead because they were three stopping, there can be no doubt that the wrong strategy call was made. If you want to argue that Vettel should have won then go right ahead, if you consider though that Ricciardo was ahead of Verstappen and therefore deserved the optimal race strategy and was then not given it, he's perfectly entitled to feel aggrieved.
Rodney Gordon
Expert
Some people are rejecting my claim that British was the first time Verstappen "beat" Ricciardo, of-course I'm not saying it's the first time he has finished ahead of him on the track, I'm referring to the fact that he looked like he was in a completely different class. You can say that he "beat" him in Canada, however the fact that they were battling for position in the latter stages of the race only goes to show how closely matched they were.
Rodney Gordon
Expert
You raise a lot of issues and I'd truly love to engage you on every single one, but let me start with this. Presumably you also believe in your heart that Kimi Raikkonen was faster than both Ricciardo and Vettel in Spain?
Rodney Gordon
Expert
I've found in the decades that I've been watching F1 that a lot of what you think about the sport, and particularly the drivers, depends on your point of view. You can say I'm making excuses, I would say that the facts are not all damning against Ricciardo. I agree though that things at Red Bull will get far more spicy when the honeymoon is over and they are truly competing for wins regularly.
Rodney Gordon
Expert
It takes more than just skill to be a complete race driver, that's exactly my point. Verstappen had scrappy race races last year because he acted petulantly and didn't keep his cool. Verstappen will continue to develop and grow, i have no doubt he'll be a formidable driver in the coming years, but if I had to bet every dollar I have on which driver would be next to win i'd be backing Daniel.
Rodney Gordon
Expert
If Hamilton had out qualified Rosberg five times to one everyone would say that he was utterly dominating his teammate, but that's not the case at Red Bull. Add the fact that Daniel should have had two wins to Verstappen's none and you'd have to be a lunatic to think the momentum was with him. I love Max, I think he's a superstar of the future and want to see him do outstanding things, I simply disagree that he is the team's best chance of winning more races this year.
Rodney Gordon
Expert
The article is in defence of Ricciardo, why would I say positive things about Verstappen? Seems consistent to me, but I appreciate your feedback.
Rodney Gordon
Expert
Verstappen showed moments of brilliance at Toro Rosso balanced with complete and utter immaturity. Similarly this year you could point to his performance in Barcelona as a guy who kept his head cool, while also pointing to Monaco as a time when he looked completely at sea, and we just don't see that from Ricciardo. Does that clarify things for you?
Rodney Gordon
Expert
That's true, but Max hit the wall during both qualifying and the race and that doesn't have much to do with the engine.
Roxtone
Guest
wasn't Dan using the updated thus much faster engine in Monaco ... Max not really interested therefore of course ... Hungary will lay it all bare and show who's boss.
Auria
Guest
It is apparently hard for Aussies to accept that Daniel's way of driving is harder on the tyres than the way Max is handling the car and tyres. It was Max first race in Spain in the Red Bull and already he managed his tyres better than Daniel, quite an achievement you hardly can deny. Daniel was on a 2-stopper in Spain, but the team switched to a 3-stopper because they doubted his tyre management. Red Bull has one of the best systems to check the degradation of the tyres during the race and that's why they decided to pit Daniel for an extra stint. What would have happened if he stayed out? A win? A flat tyre like he had at the end of the race? Maybe even worse a crash? Only a fortune teller has the answers, so the author of the article seems to have those qualities.. You get praised on Saturday's but rewarded on Sunday's is what Max underlines. So when Max has the better race pace, who cares about his qualifying pace when Max has the better race pace and the better overtaking skills of the both of them? In Austria Max outwitted Daniel again and Daniel is still flabbergasted by that move. I'm a big fan of Daniel, he got screwed up big time by his team in Monaco when he blew away Max. But in all other races Max simply had the better race pace. All statistics comparing lap times over those 5 races do underline that as well. So Daniel has to raise his game against Max. Nothing more, nothing less. He is a hell of a driver, so the odds are, he will do so. But I'm not sure what will happen when Max keeps progressing as well in qualifying and in race pace..
William M
Guest
Here are the laptimes of Monaco. It is a bit hard to compare them though. I think first 5 laps were behind safety car, as Verstappen started from pitlane he was in clean air, so not really easy to compare. After that safety car Ricciardo was in clean air and Verstappen had to overtake so really hard to compare as well. http://en.mclarenf-1.com/index.php?page=chart&gp=961&graf=3&dr1=Daniel%20Ricciardo&dr2=Max%20Verstappen
William M
Guest
You as a journalist should work on making this article in better structural order. It is all over the place and you show a really 1 sided positive Ricciardo view. I do not read much positive things about Verstappen, who actually has done the better job so far. Its only the negative things you really highlight from Verstappen. I do not read negative things about Ricciardo and there are plenty of them. 1. It does not make much sense to compare these drivers on qualifying. Ricciardo was already in this team and car since the start of this season ( and also 2014 and 2015 ) Verstappen drove his first 4 races in a Toro Rosso. It does make sense that Ricciardo out qualifies as he knows what the car can do etc and his new team mate doesn't. I am not sure if the writer of this article actually looked at the qualifying but to be so proud of Ricciardo out qualifying Verstappen in Europe by more than 1 sec is not really justified. In Europe Verstappen could not get a clean lap in because of Bottas. 2. Maybe Verstappen is not a complete driver yet and that is a very SCARY thing, I would be worried if I was Ricciardo.. He is only in his third year car racing and second year F1. To give you a comparison with Ricciardo when he was the same age? He was in his 3rd year car racing ( formula renault 2.0 ) He needed 6 seasons in lower classes before making a debut in F1. It is very impressive for Verstappen to change teams in the season and to have better results in the RACE ( that is where it really matters for driver and constructors championship ) is very special. He will only get better. 3. This talk about Ricciardo should have got that win in Barcelona. Having seen the last 4 races I have serious doubts he would have won as Verstappen is better in the tyre management than Ricciardo. He can make the stints last longer on consistant laptimes. Only look at the Austria and Canadian Grand Prix. Or maybe even at his times at Toro Rosso, as this was already very obvious if you compared that to Sainz. 4. Britain was the first, and truly only race so far that Verstappen has beaten Ricciardo. ????? Is this a joke? Canada? Do you forget to remember Verstappen finished ahead of Ricciardo? Ricciardo couldn't even get past Verstappen without complaining to the team that he thought he was faster and Verstappen should move over! He should have just done an overtake if he was that faster. Later in the race Ricciardo smokes up his tyres while going off track and needs another set while Verstappen finishes 4th after holding of Rosberg for a lot of laps and forcing Rosberg in a mistake.Riccardo finishes 7th. Austria? Ricciardo starts 5th and Verstappen 7th and in lap 2 Verstappen overtakes Ricciardo and is 2nd ( After a stint of 56 laps!!! ) Ricciardo only finished 5th. Poor race from him.
Arie
Guest
Bit of a weirdly structured article. First you go out of your way describing Ricciardo only to arrive at the conclusion that Verstappen is an incomplete driver? How did you come to that conclusion? My conclusion from what you wrote up to the last paragraph would be that Ricciardo has shown he is capable of doing what Kvyat and now Verstappen have done to the incumbent driver at Red Bull, but that you think he is intrinsically strong to bounce back. I am a big fan of Daniel (but even bigger fan of Max) but i think that Daniel has experienced first hand how strong Max is (forget Spain and Monaco wins taken from Daniel) and he is worried if he can keep/ regain the upper hand. I believe that if he wants that, he needs to dig really deep and show us something he hasn't shown before.