Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, Baku City Circuit, 2018

Ricciardo: Baku “s***show” was Red Bull’s fault

2018 F1 season

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Daniel Ricciardo has explained how Red Bull’s handling of the collision between him and team mate Max Verstappen in last year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix contributed to him leaving the team.

Ricciardo collided with Verstappen, putting both drivers out. The pair had banged wheels earlier in the race, following which Ricciardo overtook his team mate, only to drop back behind him when the pair made their pit stops.

Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald, Ricciardo admitted he “struggled to let go” of the “the whole race and the aftermath” when considering whether to extending his contract with the team. He eventually decided to join Renault for the 2019 F1 season.

“That played a part in my decision,” Ricciardo admitted. “I never really felt the same after that. As soon as I crashed into him, part of me felt, ‘you guys deserved this, that was a shitshow’.

“If the roles were reversed, if I’d been in front and moved twice in the braking area and he’d run up the back of me, would things have been handled the same way? It was a question I kept coming back to.

“The team treated us as both equally at fault in that situation, where I think deep down they knew that it was their mistake and Max’s mistake. A lot of things didn’t sit well.”

However speaking in the new Netflix F1 series “Drive to Survive”, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said he believed Ricciardo “was running from a fight” with Verstappen by leaving the team.

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Keith Collantine
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162 comments on “Ricciardo: Baku “s***show” was Red Bull’s fault”

  1. Didn’t the ban to move on the brake area already lifted? If Daniel said “the love just wasn’t there”, maybe this Baku things is only about feeling not fairness. Maybe Horner is right.

    1. It’s never fair racing to move multiple times in the braking area. Pick a line to defend and stick with it.

      1. After watching the netflix series, i can only conclude Horners comment was made spitefully

        I agree with Daniels appraisal on this one. Favouritism is not an alien concept in red bull.

        1. I agree and must admit Christian Horner has been one of my favourite people in F1. However, he has now made a few comments in favour of Max Verstappen that surprised me and lowered my esteem of Christian.

      2. The rule says that you may make one move to defend AND go back to your line (provided that you leave a car width of space), which is exactly what Verstappen did.

        Imho Ricciardo should have passed on the left instead of going back (too late) to the right.

        If you look at the images from the front there seems to be enough room on the left.

        1. @silfen

          You are incorrect. Do not spread false information.

          Appendix L of the FIA International Sporting Code contains the provisions for driver conduct. You can find Appendix L here: https://www.fia.com/file/76673/download/24716 and you can verify it is the correct copy from this page: https://www.fia.com/regulation/category/123

          Page 42 of the document is the one you’re looking for. It says: ‘More than one change of direction to defend a position is not permitted.
          Any driver moving back towards the racing line, having earlier defended his position off-line, should leave at least one car width between his own car and the edge of the track on the approach to the corner.’

          The key part is that you may move back only towards the racing line. Verstappen did not do that; he made a defensive move then moved again to the opposite side of the track (ie. the inside of the corner, not the outside which is the racing line for the corner).

          It annoys me when people spread falsehoods and others think that is the truth.

          1. @crunch: I know the rules. But imho there is not one racing line.

            And if it was as clear cut as you say, the stewards would have laid the blame predominantly on Verstappen, which they didn’t.

          2. Your argument is that there’s more than one racing line?!?!? :)

          3. @crunch, please also send us a link to the definition of the teaching line in the rules.

            I rest my case ;)

          4. @coldfly
            please state the location of the “teaching line” in the rules, maybe he can rest the case for you?

          5. *racing line
            I use a swiping keyboard, which sometimes has a mind of it’s own. And on a small screen you cannot always see what you type either.

          6. You don’t have a case at all. Had VER only did one of the offences below, he would’ve been at fault already. He did them all 4.

            1) VER moved thrice or even four times. That’s already once or twice too many.
            2) He didn’t leave a cars width.
            3) It was a manoeuvre that placed others, and himself, in danger, which is strictly prohibited.
            4) Check all the footage that exists to know what the racing line is. Not really knowledgeable huh, racing 101, you take a corner from the outside and steer inwards.

        2. F1oSaurus (@)
          10th March 2019, 19:58

          @silfen Yet Verstappen did not move in the direction of the racing line. He moved in the opposite direction to block Ricciardo.

          Besides, if you want to count moves, then Verstappen moved at least 3 times.
          1) Verstappen covered the inside line
          2) When Ricciardo threw the dummy on the outside, Verstappen fell for it and moved to the outside.
          3) Then when Ricciardo made his actual move for the inside, Verstappen moved again blocking him off

          Plus Verstappen actually started to move back to the racing line just before the crash.

          So he really made two moves too many.

          1. Eeveryone sees it different….
            FIA saw two subtle moves… on defending and one back to the racingline… in total he moved about 1 meter.
            He left a cars width to the edge of the track… some may disagree, but that’s the way the FIA sees it and how it looks on replays.

            In the end it is a matter of accepting things as they are… Ricciardo’s attempt to overtake was to bold, Verstappens defending tactics close to the limits… that’s why the FIA held both responsable…
            Ricciardo’s frustrations over RB inside politics somehow don;t include the FIA’s decision…like the fans he just refuses to accept things as they are…and that’s fairly his problem.

      3. I thought it was against the rules to move across in the braking zone, period. The rule about not moving twice pertains to the approach to a braking zone.

        It seemed to me that Verstappen broke both rules simultaneously, and hence was to blame for the collision as Ricciardo states.

        1. @James: That rule was in place only for the last couple of races in 2016 and then abandoned altogether from the start of the 2017 season.

    2. Banned or not, teammates should never fight to this extreme (and crash out).
      @ruliemaulana

      I did a detailed analysis and fed all the numbers into the computer: VER was 57.3% at fault, RIC 31.6%, Horner 8.1%, and my computer 2.7%.

      1. Yeah. Maybe the Aussie media just trying too hard to romanticizing the accident on its headline, @coldfly. But I’m envious that you already have FOM official bet apps.

      2. But Ericsson was at the race as well remember …. shouldn’t he get blamed also? ;P

        1. I blame Ocon

          1. Willem Cecchi (@)
            10th March 2019, 20:12

            “Erricson hit me!”

        2. @nullapax
          Absolutely, if all else fails, blame Marcus. And in fact, it does make sense hahah. He was running 17th, dead last and the only one who was 2 laps behind. Bc of the crash, he magically unlapped himself of those 2 laps and went on almost scoring a point, coming in 11th, less than half a second behind 10th.

      3. I did a detailed analysis and fed all the numbers into the computer: VER was 57.3% at fault, RIC 31.6%, Horner 8.1%, and my computer 2.7%. – May be not so detailed after all, there’s 0.3% missing. And how your computer assigned any blame to RIC at all, means it is biased.

      4. georgeboole (@)
        10th March 2019, 22:14

        Where is the rest 0.3%?

    3. Ric could have won that race if Redbull where prepared to issue team orders in favor of Ric. If the roles had been reversed I doubt for a second Ric would have been told/asked/pitted etc. to clear the way.

      1. This story is getting better and better LOL

        Now RIC even could’ve won

        He caught Max because of the enormous straight, according to Helmut Marko

        1. And Marko can’t be accused of being biased, right. Marko also contradicted himself in that same interview, saying that it was difficult to get the tyres warmed up (which was obviously true) but also claimed they were surprised VER overcutting RIC. That doesn’t add up, now does it?

          RIC was faster all day long. Everybody saw it and even di Resta was calling multiple times for RB to issue team orders as VER was enabling the top pulling away.

          And the story does get even better. When the Austrian reporter was asking him questions, the reporter told him RB could’ve won the GP, and this wasn’t objected by Marko, while other findings were.

    4. @ruliemaulana
      If Daniel said “the love just wasn’t there” maybe this Baku things is only about feeling not fairness – Hey, that’s a new one. When did RIC say that? Any links?

      Maybe Horner is right – Sure, it may not have to do with protecting/boosting your own driver. Horner said exactly the same when VET left.

      1. Hi, FA. It’s in The Sydney Morning Herald piece this article based on.

        1. @ruliemaulana
          Thanks for the reference. But I’ve read it, and my point is still there. In your comment you made a completely wrong connection and put things out of context.

          “If Daniel said “the love just wasn’t there”, maybe this Baku things is only about feeling not fairness. Maybe Horner is right.” – It was about feeling AND fairness. RIC made the ‘love-remark’ with regards to RB may be not feeling as much love for RIC, because he didn’t sign with them straight away. His last negotiations took about 1.8 year after VER had extended and intensified in the last 8 months or so. He literally talked about this in the interview you got his quote from and said:
          “I felt like I had to work too hard to justify what I wanted, and what the performances I’ve had say I should be worth. Perhaps the love just wasn’t there.”
          He’s very much talking about ‘the love’ in relation with ‘fairness’, so why connect it with the opposite, talking about “(..) not fairness”?

          And then you go on about Horner may be being right, ie RIC “was running from a fight” with Verstappen by leaving the team. So from a total disconnect (that things didn’t have anything to do with fairness), you engineered your way to your desired conclusion: RIC ran away from a fight with your favourite, VER. Even though RIC beat him three years in a row.

  2. Daniel’s strategy of dive bombing works when the other car is not a Red Bull, I think he did not oversee the complete picture in Baku.

    1. At least it works at all, unlike most of Verstappens attempts recently…

      If I’m not mistaken Ricciardo was already in front through overtaking in that race until Red Bull reversed them through pit stop strategy.

      1. Tristan,
        Your comment is full of bias….
        You implay most of Verstappens overtakes have gone south, while he in fact, mde the most overtakes of all driver in 2018, he also gained most positions during the starts….. so factually the opposite of your statement is the truth.

        The you say RBR reversed them through pitstop strategy….factual wrong as well, Verstappens in and outlap were faster, he gaines around 2 seconds in his in and outap… the stop itself was only sec apart…. the simple reason to why Verstappen came out in front was superiour pace

        1. of course he would have the most overtakes… when you have to always regain positions after you crash… no surprises there XD

    2. There is also the part of Ric’s former teammate weaving(which is banned in MotoGP for obvious reasons) dangerously trying to break the tow coming out of turn 16. It was the crash prone teammate of Ric on whom the majority of blame lies for the Baku debacle along with the Horner who loves to kiss rear side of the same golden boy.

    3. @godius
      He, as always(?), oversaw it all. VER though, with his 20-30 incidents last year alone, did not.

  3. Ricciardo is keep looking for excuses. It’s starting to become embarrassing. He chose money over performance, be a man and admit it.

    1. He chose being valued over a team that belittles him.

      1. @skipgamer, I am concerned this discussion is going to degenerate into those who, out of a desire to back Verstappen and, by proxy, back his team, want to dismiss and belittle Ricciardo in order to ignore his criticism of the team, and those who in turn want to use this as a way of attacking Verstappen.

        Really, though, both of those points miss what looks more like the fundamental problems that Red Bull has in handling their drivers and generally poor relations with drivers who aren’t Marko’s favourite.

        Multiple members of Red Bull’s senior management seem to actively worsen any conflict between their drivers, seem to be rather partisan with their drivers and there have been times when the atmosphere within either Red Bull or Toro Rosso, and sometimes both at once, has been described as “toxic” by those within the team due to endemic factionalism that the senior management seem to encourage.

        I think that Ricciardo’s decision to leave really says a lot more about how the working environment within Red Bull seems to be geared towards driving antagonism between drivers. Maybe Marko seems to think that it gets the best out of his drivers if they are constantly fighting each other in that way, but it comes across as being more of a recipe for discontent.

        1. @anon

          There is probably a lot of truth to that.

          The netflix series shows how high these pressure/head games escalate and influence performance. On the other hand RedBull i believe is currently one of the few on the grid to make equal performance cars, although the past with Webber not being a great security (lot of conspiracy theory aswell). Maybe the Webber story plays in the back of his head. Its like said these head games that probably made him make his choice.

          There are not alot of top teams with true equality but the Max vs. Ricciardo i would have wanted to see in a championship winning car. Could have been a Senna vs. Prost epic level. Of course the big managers dont want all this see second driver nonsense everywhere..

          1. RedBull i believe is currently one of the few on the grid to make equal performance cars – Lets see if this belief stands:

            VER had 1 or 2 tech related DNFs. Rests only 1 g-penalty in Russia and 1 start issue in Abu Dhabi, with no implications whatsoever.

            RIC: 6 tech DNFs. More, non-DNFing, aforementioned tech issues in Monaco, and France which he completed having driven it for 50% with a broken front wing. Furthermore he had tech issues and/or penalties in the qualis of China, France, Britain, Germany, Hungary, Belgium, Italy, Russia, Japan and Brazil.

            Also, it isn’t only about the performance of the car, it’s also about (getting equal) treatment by the team, eg with strategy. I bet Bottas had an equal car as Hamilton, but had to play second fiddle to Hamilton when he could help him. RIC got screwed by the team in Baku, France, Austria quali, Japan and Abu Dhabi. All of these tactical screw ups were because the team protected VER.

            So I think this ‘belief’ has to be renounced.

        2. Really, though, both of those points miss what looks more like the fundamental problems that Red Bull has in handling their drivers and generally poor relations with drivers who aren’t Marko’s favourite.

          Multiple members of Red Bull’s senior management seem to actively worsen any conflict between their drivers, seem to be rather partisan with their drivers and there have been times when the atmosphere within either Red Bull or Toro Rosso, and sometimes both at once, has been described as “toxic” by those within the team due to endemic factionalism that the senior management seem to encourage.

          That really is the key here Anon. We saw it several times already at the team(s)

    2. He chose money over performance, be a man and admit it.

      idk. That’s exactly what people were saying about HAM after 2012

      1. @davidnotcoulthard

        from the netflix series a sneer of Horner to Abiteboul: “You have any money left for your engine, now that you spent it all on a driver?

        1. @maxv Abiteboul

          We have plenty of money

    3. No one knows yet if Honda will be an improvement over Renault and with the new rules coming after next year there’s likely to be a change in the pecking order. Ricciardo’s gambling like Lewis did with Mercedes.

  4. Wow… I guess Ricciardo doesn’t run from a fight. I wonder if Horner will have another punch to throw and how bloody this could get 😂

    At the same time that article lays one hell of a gauntlet for Hulkenberg, I’d be surprised if he’s going to be content to play follow the leader.

  5. If the roles where the other way around mister Ricciardo, Verstappen would have received a monumental grid penalty and at least 3 points on his license.

    Verstappen moved twice, that’s very clear. But both moves where before any braking happened. Ricciardo overshot and would never have made the corner anyway. So if you brake to late, and than drive in the back of another car, who is to blame?

    1. Marcel, the part you ignored is the fact that when Ver moved across in front of Ric just before braking it meant that Ric lost his front to downforce and therefore a lot of his braking ability. Had Ver not done that Ric would have made the corner no problem.

      1. Wonderbadger… to me sound a lot like Honeybadger…
        If you check the footage of the crash on YT, you’ll see Ricciardo was never beside Verstappen…he should at least have calculated his distance to make it without crashing.

        It is not secret both driver had a part in the crash…you can’t simply ignore Ricciardo’s extreme late braking

    2. Bit of an orange tinted glasses you got on mate. There are countless races where Verstappen did some dangerous moves that got no penalty at all.

    3. As he was allowed to do, because he was going back to his line. Whether or not this was in the braking zone has nothing to do with it.
      That part of the rule was already banned a couple of Grand Prix after it was introduced.

      1. No he wasn’t ‘allowed to do’

        One change of direction that’s it.
        Verstappen made two, and the second wasn’t to ‘return back to the RACING LINE’ as allowed in the rules. He went back to the inside! Which is definitely NOT the rscing line.

        The racing line is the fastest possible route around the corner. Approaching a corner from the inside is definitely not the fastest route.

      2. F1oSaurus (@)
        10th March 2019, 20:01

        Again this. How on earth was Verstappen moving back to his line? He was moving in the opposite direction of where the racing line is!

    4. F1oSaurus (@)
      10th March 2019, 20:03

      @Marcel, This has nothing to do with braking zone. Weaving is not allowed on the straight either.

    5. If the roles where the other way around mister Ricciardo, Verstappen would have received a monumental grid penalty and at least 3 points on his license. – If it was the other way around, RIC DNFd VER in the same manner, either nothing would’ve happened in terms of penalties and p-points because RB would’ve instructed them what to say, just like they did now, or RIC would’ve gotten a penalty(s), because what he did was prohibited.
      Also, VER is the one who gets away with almost everything. Leniant penalty in China after getting frustrated seeing RIC overtaking everybody and heading for the win, Baku triple moving + crowding RIC towards the wall + cutting corners to defend against SAI, Spain hitting STR from behind + not coming in to get rid of his loose front wing, which caused damage to Perez’ car and caused VDO’s DNF; VER should’ve been blackflagged, cutting corners again against SAI in Monaco, hitting RAI in Austria which caused him to win and RAI getting only 2nd, a very leniant penalty for pushing BOT off track in Monza, barging into RAI in Japan without a penalty that had any consequence for him, driving into OCO who’s penalty was a farce.

      Verstappen moved twice, that’s very clear. – He even moved thrice to defend his position, but two is already not permitted, full stop. Read the regs before commenting.

      But both moves where before any braking happened. – Not true, because the last one was in the braking zone. It’s also irrelevant, changing direction more than once while defending in itself is already not allowed. No need to bring up braking zones. Read the regs. And accept them for once.

      Ricciardo overshot and would never have made the corner anyway. – RIC braked at exactly the same spot as earlier laps and overtakes. He braked even earlier than VER. Don’t make things up.

      who is to blame? – Verstappen.

  6. No one can really say for sure what would have happened, Ricciardo is just saying his feelings about the situation were a part of his decision for leaving the team…

  7. Interesting this polemic after the move has now happened and everything. Ricciardo seemingly still has it stuck in his head. Hope it doesn’t turn into a red rag or a source of frustration.
    You could see it clearly too in the Netflix documentary. Was interesting how the happy-go-lucky Ricciardo turned into quite a sourpuss during it.
    Was also very curious about some dubious editing and ‘new’ commentary, which made (amongst other things) Verstappen’s race win in Austria seem like a direct result of Ricciardo DNFing. Ah well, narratives.

    1. Ricciardo seemingly still has it stuck in his head. Hope it doesn’t turn into a red rag or a source of frustration.

      That’s actually the most worrying part, @hahostolze.
      Fighting the Hulk won’t be a walk in the park either.

      1. Ricciardo could just be fighting it because he feels so wronged by Red Bull. Its basically what he is saying. Maybe he was, maybe its in his head in any case he has to let it go to preform against Hulk.

    2. Interesting this polemic (..). Ricciardo seemingly still has it stuck in his head. – First of all, it doesn’t even come close to being polemical, he’s talking about what it made him feel/think last year, not now. And of course he’s not going to for get it, neither did we.

    3. You could see it clearly too (..) Ricciardo turned into quite a sourpuss during it. – Haven’t seen the docu, but here’s a thought: Whenever people are being done wrong, you automatically get some kind of a reaction. You might call it a sense of justice.

      Was also very curious about some dubious editing (..) which made (..) Verstappen’s race win in Austria seem like a direct result of Ricciardo DNFing. – Well, that would’ve been wrong. It was a direct result of:
      1) BOT DNF-ing
      2) VET having a grid penalty
      3) MER getting it wrong with HAMs pit stop strategy during the VSC that was triggered by BOTs DNF
      4) RB having VER leeching off RICs slipstream in quali and last but most certainly not least,
      5) Hitting RAI from behind in the first lap so he could overtake him which proofed crucial with all the aforementioned points happening.
      And talking about “dubious editing”, this hitting of RAI, who even came on the radio to report this, was eliminated from the official ‘Race Highlights’.

      And what made the fan curious, if he actually saw the docu??

      1. You forgot Raikonen getting an advantage in turn 2..
        Nice biased points.

        1. Turn 2 is a straight at which RAI was in front of VER and slightly extending that lead. No contact. Then at turn 3 RAI locked up and because of it lost a spot to Bottas in turn 4. So what are you implying? Losing a spot is an advantage? So no bias at all, from me.

          And funny how you turn the ‘RAI-point’ into labelling ALL of the five as bias. Good going max.

    4. georgeboole (@)
      10th March 2019, 22:19

      @hahostolze can’t agree more. It’s like it has always been in Ricciardo’s head since that happened. He clearly was affected the same way Bottas was when he had to let Hamilton pass.

  8. Similar to the Turkey 2010 situation. That’s Red Bull’s policy, support the guy they feel is their safest bet to win. It’s undeniable they see Max as their long term future, in the same way they saw Vettel as the multiple world champion he turned out to be. Sad for Ricciardo that’s the truth…

    That fight at Baku escalated to a point of no return because Red Bull let it. It was their own fault, regardless of the wheel to wheel fight, and which driver was responsable for the crash. It should never have happened, and I guess that’s what Daniel is refering, not Max actual moves under braking or whatever.

    1. very true

    2. Absolutely true.

    3. Yep @fer-no65, that’s my feeling too. That Horner keeps repeating the ‘Ricciardo is running from a fight’ (and dr. Marko opening his mouth) only accentuates that whether he was or not, it likely wouldn’t have been a fair fight.

    4. Exactly what I was thinking.

    5. F1oSaurus (@)
      10th March 2019, 20:07

      Turkey 2010 was worse tough. Red Bull was actively helping Vettel to overtake Webber. They told Webber to turn his engine down and at the same time told Vettel he had two laps of extra overtake to get past.

      This was before Ferrari did something similar (although they added a verbal instruction) and got slapped with an investigation of team orders.

      Marko even lamented after the race that they simply should have told Webber to move over. Apparently not realizing that that wasn’t allowed (yet)

  9. The real character behind the smile comes out…. when the team said, “we solve this behind close doors”, Ricciardo already broke that promise in the post race press conference mentioning the words ‘let the fans decide’, knowing ofcourse the fans would blame Verstappen for a double move.

    The thing with the moving under braking rule is, there’s a grey area wich Verstappen has mastered to perfection.
    The rule actually allows a double move… one defensive move and one move back to the racingline (leaving at least one cars width to the side of the track)…. wich is exactly what Verstappen did…. Ofcourse it was all on the very edge… like Ricciardo’s late braking was as well… he just miscalculated the effect of DRS and tow together. Never was Ricciardo fully alongside Verstappen… or even in sight of passing him. Max was on the outher limits… as was Ricciardo.
    The FIA saw that right.

    It speaks volumes Ricciardo can’t put it aside… it has been playing tricks on him when he saw Verstappen scoring podium after podium while his car kept on breaking down… Though in quali Ricciardo simply had no answer to Verstappen superiour pace and he never was a factor in races the car stayed alive. Dan was in heaven scoring pole in Mexico, celebrating it as a victory, onlt to see Max pass him in the first 5 meter in the race…. like Baku, like Russia, like Abu Dhabi…even when Dan was ahead, he simply couldn’t make it last.

    1. Well written and exactly as how I see it.

      1. If you watch the nextflix series you get a good insight into how fragile the mind of these drivers are. It majorly effects their performance. I personally think Ricciardo gave up this season and fell into the head games spiral. It does show he is likely not championship material, he gave up already. What he should have done is a Rosberg “No more mr. Nice Guy”, stayed at Red Bull and taken the fight to Max. THAT would have career making, with a one year contract and options at the end of 2019. Now it feels he took the weaker way out and is still complaining.

        Just think about Rosberg vs. Hamilton. Rosberg didnt stop for no reason, its thar mentally demanding!

        1. I personally think Ricciardo gave up this season and fell into the head games spiral. It does show he is likely not championship material, he gave up already. What he should have done is a Rosberg “No more mr. Nice Guy”, stayed at Red Bull and taken the fight to Max – That’s why he dominated every single session in Monaco and kept outperforming VER the rest of the season, right?

          Rosberg didnt stop for no reason – ROS has a family and a lot of other things going on, a lot of possibilities and capabilities. So he didn’t chicken out, he just reached his goal of becoming WC and moved on.

        2. Well, @maxv, I hugely admired the guts Rosberg showed by not giving up that fight until he won his WDC against Hamilton, so I really get what you are saying here about what Ricciardo should have done.

          But let’s not forget that you also need the environment to be able to do so. Mercedes was doing their best to keep an open mind on who would win, especially after Brawn left the team. And off course they had the car advantage making it easier to decide to let both guys race.

          Red Bull – well, they were not in the same position with their car. But more importantly (IMO) is that this team has never really seen both drivers equally when in such a situation. They hugely favoured Vettel over Webber – probably more in “supportive environment” than in a technical sense, and it is pretty obvious that they are now behind Verstappen, as @fer-no65 mentions above.

          With that, the Baku race should be rather seen as a point where Ricciardo fully realized that he was in the “webber position” there, and decided that instead of putting energy in fighting Verstappen and part of the team to have a go, he would rather put his energy into another team.

    2. Blastermaster
      10th March 2019, 10:47

      ‘The rule actually allows a double move… one defensive move and one move back to the racingline’

      I think you’ll find that the racing line before a left hander is on the right side of the track.

      1. There is not one racing line. Everybody can take a corner as they want.

        The rule implies that you may make one move to defend (going offline) and go back to your racing line (not THE racing line)

        1. ‘not THE racing line’

          Actually the rule. Does say THE racing line which any half serious Motorsport fan knows is the fastest way around a corner I. E. Out in out.

      2. The racingline is were the driver puts his car… the racingline of not defines anywhere, and especially going into the corner a driver is free to chose his line.

        Verstappen went right defending, then left back the the line he was before…a perfect move… he weaved about 1 meter in total…quite subtly wich the FIA reckognised as legal. A move 80% of F1 fans will label as illegal cause they see two moves… Meanwhile Verstappen has been accused of weaving quite a lot, but never even once got as much as investigated over it.

        If Ricciardo wanted to be valued as a true#1 driver, he simply should needs a bit more pace…. losing this bad in quali would never put him in a position to win a championship…. Mercedes have their #1 driver… eventhough Bottas was more competitive in quali than Ricciardo was.

        1. F1oSaurus (@)
          10th March 2019, 20:08

          Wrong. The racing line is the racing line. The stewards even compare lines with other cars or previous laps when they decide on what “the racing line” is.

          1. In your dreams…there’s no such thing as a defined racingline…if you remember Brasil then you’ll know Verstappen did chose other lines…that appeared to be faster. Going into the corner there are no rules about how and where…

            Verstappen went back to the line he was in before he made the move…that’s the idea…
            The FIA felt the move was legit…you could try and understand to why it was legit, the rest is irrelavant and purely based on emotions

          2. F1oSaurus (@)
            12th March 2019, 20:03

            there’s no such thing as a defined racingline

            Yes there is. It’s not a fixed line, but the racing line is defined by the conditions and how the driver in question and other drivers take the line.

            You clearly have no clue what you are talking about. What you are saying is indeed completely based on your loving emotions for Verstappen.

            Please try to understand racing.

            Read some stewards verdicts referring to the racing line and see that it’s abundantly clear what their definition is. It’s most definitely is not just what the driver decides it to be on a whim.

            How on earth would that even work? Why would you even have the notion of racing line mentioned?

            Seriousl, just sit back, count to 10, and try to understand what you are saying.

    3. It was not about the move as much about how Redbull handled the whole race – Ric was the faster Redbull driver that day and with some team orders may have won the race.

      1. actually he wasn’t, otherwise he wouldn’t be behind Verstappen did he?

        Because of the long straight and DRS he was faster on the straight but he wasn’t on other parts of the circuit.

        1. actually he wasn’t, otherwise he wouldn’t be behind Verstappen did he? – So you’re not familiar with the terms ‘overtake’, ‘being stuck behind a slower car’, ‘being out of position’ and the fact that RIC was in front of VER, after he passed him for the 3rd time, before the pit stops, apparently also missed your attention.

        2. I think you need to watch the race

  10. Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
    10th March 2019, 10:25

    Now this is interesting and I would say almost entirely his reason for leaving. A lot of similarities to Turkey 2010, also involving a slightly less at fault Aussie to his younger golden boy team mate who was thrown under the bus by the team. Maybe Danny looked at the way things went for Mark after 2010 and all the bitterness and thought I don’t fancy history repeating itself. Maybe even Danny spoke with Mark about it all. Or maybe still I’m overanalysing it and Danny has just never forgiven the team for that injustice and the overarching subtle favouritism to Max.

  11. And so the mudslinging begins…I wondered how long this amicable parting line would hold.

    1. It was not completely unexpected for you? You must have been following the sport for a while then ;-)

  12. I think Daniel is showing some poor selfreflection here. I believe he was equally to blaim. His trick, the divebomb, only works when you catch your opponent off guard. Yet he tried it on his teammate, after doing a dummy move from right to left, who he had been battling for many laps (including cheeky moves from both sides) and had been defending that inside line. Therefor he is just as much to blame. Way too aggressive, and braking way too late. Daniel wanted to make his point that weekend, that he was Red Bull’s top driver for the year, there was just no way that he got beaten by Max and vice versa.

    I also doubt he would have made that corner at all and they might even collided without Verstappens move to the left. If you look at the onboards, you see him going for a gap that is hardly there, let’s not forget that if he made that gap, he would have been breaking on the dirt. It was just never going to end well.

    And I get that he blames RBR for letting them race so aggresively, but I think Ricciardo was also thinking of teamorders. And to be honost, I don’t think that would have been fair. Daniel was only faster thanks to that massive 1.5 second straight line tow. If they swapped places, Verstappen would probably be in the same position Ricciardo was.

    Both made a cheeky move with risk involved, and well, Murphy’s law. Both were equally to blame.

    If it was the other way arround, I honostly believe Verstappen would have gotten the blame within Red Bull (even though I believe it was an equal blame). He was already ‘under fire’ for his risky overtaking in Bahrain and China, I think that Marko would have given Verstappen a harder time for wanting to beat his teammate.

    1. Just replying to your last paragraph: but that’s not what happened, isn’t it? Which seems to be what confirmed Ricciardo’s feeling about how this was going to go: along the lines of Turkey 2010, with him not in the Vettel role. In the end I don’t think this needs to be about what the truth is, but what Ricciardo felt the situation was.

    2. Your assumptions about the braking are wrong. RIC braked even slightly earlier than before and braking on that part of the track poses no problems. VER braked multiple times on the inside without being too late.
      And there was a gap, but VER closed it (not letting a car width) and when RIC saw it closed, he tried to go back to the right but at that stage a crash was already unavoidable.

      If it was the other way arround, I honostly believe Verstappen would have gotten the blame within Red Bull – Well if it was the other way around, RIC would’ve gotten the blame, even within RB. In case you missed it, even Marko now, almost a year later, came clean and has said VER, Marko’s own driver, was the one who could’ve avoided the crash.

  13. Big surprise.

    Max is better, hes getting favored, Daniel couldnt stand either of it. His smile did dissapear last season.

    1. He’s still smiling. And he outperformed VER 3 years in a row. May be VER gets to outperform a teammate for a change now, with newbie Gasly.

      1. Did not look at the scoreboard at the end of last year?

        1. Oh yes I did. But I look at that board if I want to know who outSCORED one another. I look at the GP when I want to know who outPERFORMED one another.

          And @maxv uses an even weirder metric, because it suits his narrative. He combines all of the accumulated points in their period as team mates, 2016-2018, and then states that VER ‘beat’ RIC. But there’s no such thing as a championship that spans from (spain)’16 up to and including the end of ’18, so you can’t beat somebody to it. At least Markos keeps it with 1 championship at a time and comes to a 2-1 win for RIC.

          Poor Max, needing every help of his team, fans, ziggo and liberty to ‘beat’ RIC and look good.
          And scoring only 18 points more than RIC while having 7 to 9 non-driver-DNFs less than him and getting preferential treatment and strategy, doesn’t reflect well on him at all. And also scoring 3 poles less.

      2. This year Max beat Ric.. and over the total 3 year score as well. Go troll somewhere else..

  14. I’d suggest look at the race prior to the crash. Danny got in front a few times and then. max launches dodgy moves into turn 2 and it was only that Danny turned out of a collision that they didn’t hit. Max was assuming Danny would get out of his way, and Danny did – twice. He then overly robustly defended and as a result the crash occurred.

    Whether you think Max was within his rights or not isn’t the issue Dannynis raising however. It’s that if the situation was reversed would the blame have been apportioned 50/50? I agree with Danny that it is unlikely. Max might have been hit harder by the FIA but at RBR Danny would have been flamed.

    Danny is recognised by the other top drivers as a top driver. He’s the best overtaker in F1 at the moment. He’s a fan favourite. If he thought he might be playing second fiddle to Max within the team and would not be getting the same rub of the green as Max from the upper echelons of the team, I can see why he’d want to move – anywhere.

  15. After Horner saying he ran like a chicken, it’s fair for Ricciardo to bring up his perceived favoritism.

    No doubt Verstappen was mostly to blame for Baku and should have been pointed out by the team, but not sure they would have done anything differently if it was the other way around, but Ricciardo would know this much better than anybody so if he doubts it, I doubt it too.

    Of course I still think he left in order not to taint his appeal to Mercedes/Ferrari by being beaten by Verstappen, but instead shine with the occasional brilliant drive at Renault to keep up the allure.

  16. I’ll not knock DR for how he feels about it. It’s simply how he feels and is his take on the matter.

    Horner is not the first team principal to have a bit of a headache dealing with two great drivers. His remarks after the incident were that both drivers were equally to blame, that both drivers taking each other out is always the worst case scenario for a team, and that he wanted both drivers to be able to race each other, including after Baku. Given that DR had lead Max in points in 16, 17, and for half of 18, I don’t see the favouritism towards Max, however he is incredible and it is understandable that they would support him. Doesn’t mean they weren’t supporting DR too, and letting the chips fall where they may.

    To me I’m not sure what DR wanted from Baku. For them to not be allowed to race? They should have told Max to back off? How would that then change the dynamic on the team? To me, in letting them race it out Horner is showing he is not favouring any one driver, just as by going along with the stewards decision that it was a racing incident and giving both drivers a reprimand, they are both left equally treated and left to fight it out another day. Horner would have served the team in a worse way had he picked a side.

    To me, nothing was forcing DR to trail Max so closely at that spot. If he had more pace he could have picked another spot to pass Max, but of course I know that is using the luxury of hindsight. I’m just not sure what DR thinks Horner should have done that wouldn’t involve interference between the two drivers. I’m reminded of when DR was behind Max in one race, can’t remember which, and claiming he was faster than Max, ie let me get by him, and within a lap was losing ground on Max and wasn’t faster than him at all. Of course RBR are going to support Max, but I don’t see where they weren’t also supporting DR, but I respect his feelings on it and his decision, for he is the one that has lived through it.

    1. Canada 2016…. Max pulled a gap right after Dan’s call.
      Last season he tried that again when Raikkonen was in front of Verstappen… who reacted with a ‘duh… I’m behind Raikkonen’. I think is was actually the Spanish GP, right after Baku.

    2. Totally agree, I’m unable to think of an instant where RB truly showed favoritism. When ver made some painfull faults horner said that he should learn from DR and that DR was the more mature driver. You could argue that they showed favoritism at that moment.

      Yes they signed Ver sooner that DR and DR veldt hurt by it, but maybe Ver simply has a better manager than DR.

      Nobody has true examples of favoritism, it’s always “it’s in the little things” or “if Ver would have done this they would have handled it differently” .

      I think it’s a pity DR left, they where the best driver pairing on the grid. And I always felt that they really got the best out of each other on Saturdays. It could be good for the hulk , if he is able to beat DR but I don’t see an upside for than fans. DR earns more so that is good for him and I understand that if you don’t feel at home anymore that you should move. Still I can’t shake the feeling that people around DR and some fans choose to play the favoritism card instead of beleving in his ability to beat Ver

    3. F1oSaurus (@)
      10th March 2019, 20:16

      @Robbie,

      To me I’m not sure what DR wanted from Baku.

      Well like Ricciardo said, he wished that the incident should have been treated fairly and Verstappen should have appointed his 90% of the blame for the accident. Instead of pretending both drivers were equally to blame.

      A driver shouldn’t be weaving and blocking at all. Let alone that you pull such dirty tricks on your own team mate.

      1. @f1osaurus 90% is a number you have invented and is inconsistent with what the stewards ruled.

        1. F1oSaurus (@)
          10th March 2019, 21:13

          @Robbie, Well, that’s the point. Verstappen moved 3 to 4 times. Making an incident completely inevitable. Clearly he should have gotten a penalty. So the stewards were “wrong” on this one.

          Or rather they never rule on any incident between team members.

          I mean, look at when Vettel took out Webber in Turkey 2010. Or when Button put Hamilton in the Wall in Canada (Stewards: “Yes Button was to blame, but he hadn’t seen Hamilton”) or when Rosberg took out Hamilton in Spain (Stewards: Yes Rosberg was to blame, but Hamilton wasn’t next to him very long”).

          They almost invariably let the team handle such internal team incidents.

          Either way: “A driver shouldn’t be weaving and blocking at all. Let alone that you pull such dirty tricks on your own team mate.”

          I’m Dutch and all, but similar to another forum member posted, I’m more embarrassed for the dirty tricks he keeps pulling. Hope he can finally get this nonsense out of his system so I can finally actually root for a countryman in F1.

          1. @f1osaurus Three or four times is an exaggeration. Your claim that the stewards got it wrong on this one is simply your opinion, yet both drivers were reprimanded. The stewards did indeed rule. Max’s behaviour did not force DR to be so close to him to begin with. DR was being just as aggressive as Max was.

          2. F1oSaurus (@)
            11th March 2019, 6:49

            @robbie Well, it’s simply your opinion that it is my opinion.

            Besides:
            1) Verstappen covered the inside line
            2) When Ricciardo threw the dummy on the outside, Verstappen fell for it and moved to the outside.
            3) Then when Ricciardo made his actual move for the inside, Verstappen moved again blocking him off

            Plus Verstappen actually started to move back to the racing line just before the crash.

            Seriously though your last sentences are simply beyond ridiculous. Verstappen’s behavior DID put Ricciardo so close. If Vestappen keeps weaving back and forth to counter every move Ricciardo makes then the only outcome is that they hit. That is exactly why weaving and blocking is not allowed.

            Ricciardo made a perfectly legal move that would have worked perfectly fine if Verstappen had adhered to the rules. Verstappen fell for the dummy and at that moment he was beat. Yet he couldn’t take his loss and moved again, taking out both cars.

        2. @f1osaurus It is simply beyond ridiculous to suggest DR could have lifted? Did he not have control over his own accelerator? Especially if MV was doing more weaving than he actually was, according to you? Sounds like lifting would have been prudent. DR had to know how much downforce one loses while in dirty air.

          1. @robbie @f1osaurus

            Max was hell bent on blocking, Ric on divebombing (and thus in a mindset to brake late): end result -> Fun

            I think Max learned all this is perfectly ok from his Torro Rosso monaco incident with Grosjean. Maybe he even lifted a little…stewards ruled it all ok. not exactly similar, but hey it does teach it can be good to be on the limit.

            In total retrospect if this lead to Ric falling into head games and even leaving, then power to Max. Max is not there to be a nice guy and couldnt care less about the public opinion. F1 is a cruel world, look at Ocon without a drive..

          2. F1oSaurus (@)
            12th March 2019, 19:56

            @robbie Yes that’s actually just disgusting that you would even suggest that we pamper to that style of bullying.

            We all want more overtaking or at least drivers fighting for position and this “try to pass me and I will ram you” nonsense needs to end.

            Drivers are allowed one defensive move and then back to the racing line (while leaving space if the attacking driver is alongside on the outside). That should be it.

  17. Verstappen should have been demoted to torro rosso for one race after that disgusting and dangerous blocking, more so because it was to a teammate driving faster than him. Sadly team red bull picked a side, so no wonder ricciardo quit.

    1. Did you miss Ricciardo was actually overtaken twice by Verstappen in Baku….if Dan was faster that wouldn;t have happened..

      1. F1oSaurus (@)
        10th March 2019, 20:20

        Verstappen overtook Ricciardo zero times. Starts and pit stops don’t count as overtakes. Especially not since Ricciardo was delayed by a car ahead going into the stop which cost him his lead on Verstappen.

        Ricciardo DID however overtake Verstappen on track.

      2. Always making things up and adding incidents for good measure. Claiming RIC spun twice in Spain and now, saying VER overtook RIC twice at Baku. He overtook him once, at the restart, on the short run towards the 1st corner, which was a nice move, but not because he was intrinsically faster. RIC overtook VER three times during the race by being faster all race long.

  18. I trust Horner’s comments as much as I trust Wolff’s and his bosses at Mercedes (with their emissions che@ting and two types of price fixing sc@ndals)

  19. In a fair world Riccairdo should be at Mercedes right now preparing to continue beating Lewis. Verstappen is quicker than both and will leave his legacy at Red Bull, but think Riccairdo desevers a better legacy than he’s likely to leave in F1 now.

    1. agreed, its sad to see such talent not in a competitive car.

  20. To be honest both Verstappen and Ricciardo tend to drive harshly and uncompromisingly – as in you give them the smallest amount of space and they’ll take all of it and then some. Their defending is often harsh, as is their overtakes, and so the pair racing each other was always going to end in tears. Not surprised they collided at all.

    Tend to think Red Bull were right – both were at fault in different ways. You could sit and argue who was ‘more’ or ‘less’ to blame, but that’s almost a matter of opinion – basically telling both of them they were at fault and moving on was the only option.

    Kinda disappointed in him to find out not only has he stewed over it ever since and left largely because he felt Verstappen was at fault and Red Bull were unwilling to enforce that. Ricciardo WAS at fault for that collision – just as much as Verstappen was? He can’t just absolve himself of responsiblity for his part in that?

    1. To be honest both Verstappen and Ricciardo tend to drive harshly and uncompromisingly – as in you give them the smallest amount of space and they’ll take all of it and then some. Their defending is often harsh, as is their overtakes

      @rocketpanda – this is the one reason I want to see RBR and Renault racing against one another this year, to see their drivers up against one another :)

    2. Don’t agree with anything said, and how does one come up with this “(RIC) left largely because he felt Verstappen was at fault and Red Bull were unwilling to enforce that.”?

  21. Blastermaster
    10th March 2019, 14:32

    So by your reasoning, a double move is perfectly fine, in any defensive situation.
    It therefore begs the question- why isn’t every driver using this tactic in every single defensive move, since it’s within the rules

    1. Because some drivers are even too stupid to defend with a first move. Two moves is beyond their capabilities..

      1. LOl, says @maxv

      2. F1oSaurus (@)
        10th March 2019, 21:15

        @maxv, Max simply fell for the dummy, but he’s such a dirty driver that he didn’t care about making yet another move inevitably causing a collision with his team mate.

    2. Agree with you. I was pushing hard for Max when he got the big time in F1 since he’s Dutch. But I’ve seen enough of his dirty driving to say that I’m embarrassed. He has the talent, if he would drop the dirty tricks, he could have been great. But he is as petulant as a four year old.

      I don’t think Verstoppen will ever grow out of his sphincter mode, and we’ll all be looking back in five years thinking, “What if?”

    3. The trick is to do it right…. Verstappen laughed his hat off when Vettel took a penalty in Mexico 2016… it had been in fact Ferrari (after Spa) who made a big fuzz about Verstappens defending tactics, putting the focus on Verstappen.
      It speaks volumes the FIA deleted the ‘Verstappen- rule’ after a few races….

      1. Exactly I think Max studied Senna and Schumacher dirty moves volume in detail and is willing to emulate it to the limit. Sportsmanship is for nice guys that come second.

        1. @maxv

          Max didnt need to study. I can vouch that Schumacher’s antics with the support of the FIA left its impression on many Karters around Europe.
          A similar thing has been observed in other sports. The changes of behaviour in kids’ soccer for example.

          1. F1oSaurus (@)
            10th March 2019, 21:18

            Senna and Schumacher didn’t do this.

            I remember Schumacher did it once and everybody was appalled. He never did it again. Next lap Hakkinen overtook Schumacher anyway, with the aid of Zonta on Kemmel straight at Spa.

          2. @f1osaurus

            check how Schumacher rammed Damon Hill and Villeneuve. On the edge and a bit over..

          3. F1oSaurus (@)
            12th March 2019, 20:11

            OK, true the ramming was bad, but he did not block or weave (or at least not nearly as often as Verstappen does).

  22. What Ricciardo is saying makes a lot of sense. When you think about it, anybody in his place would have been gutted about how blatantly the team favoured his teammate. All credit to him for not mentioning it as soon as he left Red Bull, but I bet Horner is now regretting his “run away” jibe.

  23. ‘you guys deserved this

    I’m not sure why there’s no Backspace Key on a car, but there isn’t. So you can’t go back and correct a mistake and not have an accident. I suspect saying things to the media is the same: you can’t go back and change what you said. Sure Red Bull could have done this and that, maybe they should have done those things. Maybe Daniel could have done things differently too. Maybe Max could or should have done things differently too.
    I think the best thing Daniel could have done is to not say much about that incident. He shouldn’t have openly blamed Red Bull because the team have pressures on them that he doesn’t understand or doesn’t appreciate the significance of, and especially that whether he realises it or not he himself puts pressure on the team. Maybe there are people like mechanics and technicians that are glad he’s gone.
    There’s a whole season ahead. At the end of this season that incident may appear trivial and not worth getting excited about.
    It’s over, move on.

    1. @drycrust

      I think the best thing Daniel could have done is to not say much about that incident.

      He didn’t say anything about it, even after he was given half the blame. He stuck with the narrative that he wanted a fresh start, and didn’t go negative on RB. Then Horner started shooting his mouth off about how Daniel ran from a fight by joining Renault, and then Daniel starts getting a bunch of questions about if he is running from a fight. As far as I’m concerned, Horner fired the first shots and ensured this wasn’t going to remain amicable, especially when RIC had several retirements and Horner would take every opportunity to throw shade at Renault and his decision to go there.

  24. Driving in circles
    10th March 2019, 18:36

    That is called rationalization he was out performed last year by Verstappen and that is the only reason why he left Red Bull

  25. Ah, another RIC-VER article and of course the usual suspects, the VER-fanatics, got drawn by it like a magnet. Also shows how much of a pro-VER site this is. I see all the non-arguments and suggestive remarks and questions are raised again.

    1) The real character behind the smile comes out – Ah, the HATE.. let it flow, let it go, feel me.

    2) Ricciardo already broke that promise (..) mentioning the words ‘let the fans decide’ – How is that breaking a promise? Does this fan really think RB, or anyone, have anything to say about what the fans want to discuss/say/decide regarding this matter?? And besides, how on earth does an outsider know what’s been said by a team during a time in which their t-principal refused to give any comment at all? LOL

    3) knowing ofcourse the fans would blame Verstappen for a double move. – How dare he to think others might put the blame on VER.. How does a footballer dare to think a referee would give him a red card when he elbows an opponent. And how dare the fans think it was VERs fault, a 100%. The sheer audacity.

    4) LOL, talking about ‘moving under braking’, grey areas, mastering it to perfection. Prime examples of one of the main characteristics of VER-fans is not acknowledging and casting doubt about clear, unambiguous rules. Whenever it suits them of course. From ‘The International Sporting Code’:

    “More than one change of direction to defend a position is not permitted. Any driver moving back towards the racing line, having earlier defended his position off-line, should leave at least one car width between his own car and the edge of the track on the approach to the corner.
    However, manoeuvres liable to hinder other drivers, such as deliberate crowding of a car beyond the edge of the track or any other abnormal change of direction, are strictly prohibited.”

    There is no doubt VER was in breach of these regs bc he:
    – Changed more than once, solely to defend.
    – When he moved back to the racing line, he didn’t leave one car width. Anybody seeking evidence can find pics and vids online. But I see his fans are still in denial.
    – It was clearly a manoeuvre that was going to hinder RIC to such an extent that it would place him in a passenger seat, talking about a hindrance, like for example Brawn commented and
    – When earlier RIC overtook VER, VER deliberately crowded RIC towards the wall when they were side by side and, bc of it, touched each others front tyres, jeopardizing even lives.

    So he wasn’t only in breach of one ruling, but at least three in that specific move and one in that other one. And oh, in L7 he cut a corner, not the first and last time he did that, when SAI tried to come back at him after VER repassed him. No penalty. Again.

    BTW, the fact that RIC had to overtake VER for the 4th time that day when they DNFd in the first place, was bc the team gave him the lesser strategy, again not for the 1st time and not for the last. They pitted RIC 1st, despite knowing that it’s the overcut that worked bc tyres took a long time to warm up. Everybody knew that. RAI, who pitted in the 1st lap, had already came multiple times on the radio with this issue, VET experienced it also. With HAM it was probably even worse. BOT, who still was in his 1st stint, even extended his lead over HAM on new tyres, all the way up till he finally pitted after the RBs crashed, during the subsequent SC.
    RIC was way faster than VER, setting multiple fastest laps and he attacked VER in the first corner right after VERs outlap, who was defenseless but desperately tried to hang on on cold tyres. It also had nothing to do with braking too late on RICs side like VERs fans desperately keep saying, hoping at least one of their ‘arguments’ sticks. He braked at the same point he always did, and it wasn’t a question he’d make the corner at all.
    Like Cronies above said, RIC could’ve had a very nice podium out there (though a win would’ve been difficult).
    And I agree indeed, RB “deserved this”, and I think Newey agrees too.

    5) It speaks volumes Ricciardo can’t put it aside… it has been playing tricks on him (..) – Oh, we’ve got somebody with some special powers which he uses to read a guy’s mind whom he never met in his life.. And who happens to have beaten his idol three years in a row. And I’d say he hás put it aside. He continued besting VER in the rest of the season, which included a win in Monaco from pole, having to deal with a car without MGU-K, missing gears and having the same brake issues VER had in Silverstone.
    May be it’s the fan who can’t put it aside. RIC was just asked a question of some sort.

    6) Though in quali Ricciardo simply had no answer to Verstappen superiour pace – Cough cough. In the 12 qualis that had equal circumstances, RIC beat VER 7-5. 2 out of the 5 VER-wins were won by only 0.002s of a second. Also, a better quali-metric is the avg grid position. The delta between RICs and VERs avg grid position was a massive 3 places better in those 12 sessions in which they had equal opportunity. That’s HUGE. The delta for example between HAM and BOT was only 1 grid spot.
    Also, RIC scored 3 poles in their time together, 2 last year.VER still has none. This despite having much more problems in qualis.

    7) he never was a factor in races the car stayed alive. – Cough cough cough. In races the difference only grows in RICs favour. He beat VER in about 90% of the races, resulting in outperforming VER over a whole GP weekend in about 75% of them.

    8) Dan was in heaven scoring pole in Mexico – Talking about not being able to put things aside. Still stings huh? And it WAS a victory. A victory over the ones who were doing everything to put VER ahead of him, including VER.
    – onlt to see Max pass him in the first 5 meter in the race – As did HAM and as did BOT.. Yes, it was the only time in RICs career he dropped three spots on pure initial getaway alone. That’s called a faulty clutch and it proved terminal that race.

    9) like Baku, like Russia, like Abu Dhabi…even when Dan was ahead, he simply couldn’t make it last. – Hahah, probably doesn’t realize Baku is discussed in the article, and like I pointed out above, RIC was way faster.
    He drove 73% of Russia with a broken nose, which was replaced at his pit stop. It broke because debris from a scuffle in front of him, flew right at it. VER-fans know this of course, but they keep hiding it, hoping it will change things. RIC did a great job once again, at managing car problems and overtaking the F1B cars, with a F1A car that was about 1s off its usual pace. And he set a faster PB than VER once he pitted (fuel load adjusted, bc he stopped 4L earlier).
    Abu Dhabi, he was “shafted” strategy wise, like Rosberg and others said. And it wasn’t hard to see. He was faster than VER all weekend (in fact, he dominated VER in each and every ABU-weekend in their 3 years together), who couldn’t even qualify on the ultra’s, but RB chose to have RIC drive those ultra’s 8-16 laps beyond their optimum. There were 14 drivers who started on either the hypers or the ultra’s, and RB were the only ones, with RIC only not VER of course, who chose to disregard that optimum. SAI was the only other who too was still in his first stint on ultra’s yes, but he was pulling away from 7th placed LEC and of course without a chance to get into the top-5, so that did actually make sense.

    1. F1oSaurus (@)
      10th March 2019, 21:19

      TL:DR

      but yes, let the hate flow …

    2. @FA
      Frusty much? take a chill pill..

      1. @FA
        is it you Daniel?

  26. Ric’s comments are exactly as I felt watching it. Poor management by Red Bull and good for Ric to move on!

  27. Ricciardo has beaten verstappen more often than not over the course of there time as team mates so I don’t get what this running away business is all about . Danny Ric put in some inspired drives early last season (China and Monaco spring to mind ), while verstappen was busy crashing into everything then getting petulant about it . Marko and horner very much have that max is the new vettel in this team vibe about them ,so let’s be honest if you were Ricciardo and you sensed the way the wind was blowing what would you do ? Good look to him hope he smashes it this season .

  28. How can Ricciardo be ‘running from a fight’ by leaving a fight he is not allowed to win when he was Max Verstappen’s team mate. It was the same situation when Mark Webber was at Red Bull and the team had clearly chosen Sebastian Vettel over him. So Christian Horner is being typical here by blaming the driver for what happened, rather than assume blame himself or from his team.
    When Pierre Gasly sticks the Dutchman in the fence we will see how much Horner enjoys ‘the fight’, and how long Gasly keeps his job. Verstappen is the new Hamilton, minus the five world titles naturally, in every sense of the word.
    Ricciardo had no choice in his career. He had to walk away and escape that situation, who wants to be a doormat in life? No one does.
    Renault maybe a step down, but I would rather be in a team like that than a whipping boy like Bottas, who is told once or twice a year to move over so Lewis can win a grands prix ‘for the sake of the championship’.
    People like Horner abound in F1. They all want ‘hard racing’, just as long as it’s on their terms 100% of the time. I.e as in fixed. Brundle was right to show Snobby Spice up when he said ‘at least I raced in F1’ live on air. Brilliant!

    1. DR not allowed to win? Several people around here love to state that DR beat Max in 2016 and 2017, and he certainly led him for the first half of 2018 too. Exactly how had DR been hobbled?

      1. F1oSaurus (@)
        11th March 2019, 7:02

        Renault maybe a step down, but I would rather be in a team like that than a whipping boy like Bottas

        Oh come on, the only reason they asked Bottas to let Hamilton past was because he was completely out of contention for the WDC anyway and they were fighting against a team with a faster car. They were lucky that Vettel threw away all those wins/points allowing Hamilton to even be in a position to lead the championship.

        Either way, it made sense they feared Vettel could have started racking up the race wins if he just kept his car on track.

        Ricciardo would be assuming he’d perform a lot better and if so he would never have to move over. Mercedes is really the team with the best equal opportunity track record.

        They never asked Rosberg to move over and they also never asked Bottas to give up his place in 2017 (when he did come close in points to Hamilton). The one time they did ask Bottas to move over, Hamilton actually dropped back by half a minute and gave back the place (even with risk to his own position).

        At Mercedes it’s most definitely not like Ferrari where Raikkonen’s strategy got sacrificed to aid Vettel at least every other race. Even the first races.

  29. There were many examples of RB supporting VER over RIC, so no wonder RIC made his decision to leave.
    For Horner to suggest RIC is running from a fight with VER, shows how bitter Horner is from losing RIC to Renault. Horner should watch a replay of the 2016 Malaysian GP, when RIC effectively invited VER into a wheel to wheel battle (brilliant racing from both drivers btw) to remember RIC isn’t afraid of VER, let alone any other driver. Of the two drivers, VER is the one who seems afraid of a wheel to wheel fight by his excessive and sometimes illegal defending. To suggest RIC is afraid of the fight with VER over a full season is ignoring the point of RB favouring VER with superior strategies, possibly developing the car to VER’s driving style, etc so doesn’t hold up.

  30. It was mostly verstappens fault.
    Ricciardo gave him space every single time on turn 2 to fight back.

    He could easily have squeezed max into the wall but didnt do that even once whereas verstappen banged wheels with him while not being nearly as aggressive with the Renault drivers that went through him earlier.

    Red Bull and horner let it get to that point. They are responsible.

  31. ric was faster than ver… logical would be to ask ver to move… but with such a driver as verstappen logioc is not an option… so i agree with ric… he did not have the same support from the team… and i understand why he chose to leave, instead of being disfavoured in his team! horner is just so in love with Verstappen, that he didn’t even realised that he is to blame for ric leaving…

  32. Ricci’s divebomb backfired. So what, that is the risk of such a move.
    Looks like Danny lost a lot of sleep over this incident, I bet Verstappen did not lose any.

    1. obviously.
      Verstappen already had a long term deal with the team. Ricciardo didn’t.

      He had to take a very important decision career wise and the way they handled this accident clearly wasn’t fair to him, so it really is obvious that the gave it a lot more thought than Verstappen did.

  33. RebelAngelFloyd (@)
    11th March 2019, 20:58

    Not fair from mr Horner to say that RIC didn’t want to fight VER.
    Dan did his best but he already lost the battle.

    https://www.racefans.net/2018/12/06/2018-team-mates-battles-verstappen-vs-ricciardo-at-red-bull/

  34. What it comes down to is RIC didn’t want to stay in such a toxic environment anymore and RBR is definitely toxic. He obviously made the right move – more money and a true team environment unlike RBR. I feel VER will have rough days ahead and his intimidating tactics will catch up to him. Expect him and dad to implode.
    I expect this year the talk will be all about LeClerc’s superior racing skills. For those who think VER has matured, it seems he went off the rails playing a video game several weeks ago. He, like his father will never change.

  35. Shaun sandison
    12th March 2019, 9:14

    I always think back to this statement from Horner when Red Bull signed Verstappen,

    “As we now look to the long term with Max, he is in the best place in the sport to build a team around him to deliver our shared ambition.”

    I think this was the beginning of the end for RIC

  36. I’m enjoying the Netflix series, some great race editing and the drivers come across as much more amicable, especially Max outside his ‘angry bubble’ which is when we quite often get to see him (post-Brazil etc.). I still think Baku was down to Ricciardo trying to sell a dummy pass on the right/outside half-heartedly and then diving to the left/inside before he’d lured Max sufficiently wide. Then when he lacked space, the aero changes messed up his braking distance. MV did move twice but not really that much (as the stewards found). However what did strike me was Horner’s comments to Max after Monaco. Yes they were thrilled about Ricciardo’s win. But there was something in the way he said ‘today you celebrate your team mate’s win’ that seemed to sum up the dynamic. Verstappen really expected to win Monaco and Horner/Red Bull were clearly already sold on the idea that he would outperform Ricciardo most weekends. Subtle but these kinds of hints must have influenced Ricciardo a lot (plus the alleged pay differential). Even so, was he right to leave for Renault? I got the impression from the series too that he was really after a Mercedes or Ferrari seat and having decided to leave, in his mind, if they offered a place, had already detached himself from Red Bull very early on in the season.

  37. RebelAngelFloyd (@)
    12th March 2019, 11:34

    What did Keith state, December 6th 2018?

    “Why did Daniel Ricciardo decide to jump ship from Red Bull, the team which brought him into Formula 1 and made him a race winner, and join Renault?
    For some the answer can only be a question of what he leaving rather than what he is joining. Which is to say, that hanging around in the same team as Max Verstappen is not going to do his career or his market value much good.”
    2018
    Qualified ahead : RIC 5 vs VER 15
    Finished ahead : RIC 4 vs VER 8
    Share of points : RIC 170 vs VER 249
    laps ahead : RIC 217 vs VER 746 (!!!)

  38. Just watched the whole mess again, in slow motion a bunch of times. This is what I saw.

    As early as lap 8, Max was complaining about pace and his race engineer told him to he is over using his overtake button. Cars were starting to queue up behind him. The Renaults both got past the Red Bulls by lap 10 due to different tires and strategies. VER is screaming on the radio this whole time about not being fast enough, not having battery to defend, and his race engineer is telling him that mode 7 is correct. The implication there is “Use it more wisely”. In fairness, a bit later RIC complains about the battery charging as well. Might have been an issue we never found out about.

    DiResta noted that RIC looks quite a bit faster than VER at that part of the race, right before HUL hit the wall and went out. This is when RIC started making several fair moves and VER defended extremely hard against him, bumping tires at least twice. Lap 13, Ted Kravitz notes that Newey is looking over at Horner with worry about what is going on on track and that Sainz is getting away.

    Coming up to lap 26, RIC was going 5/10th faster than VER, but saving his battery. RIC went for the pass on the outside, but still left enough space when VER came back on him, and VER ran him out of room going around the next corner. They lost 2 seconds with that fighting, and at this point the pit wall should have told VER to let RIC by to get after HAM. RIC was consistently putting in fastest lap of the race for 25, 27, 28.

    On lap 35, RIC passes VER, and immediately puts 1.3 seconds gap on him by lap 37. VER said at this point he can’t hang on to the tires any more. RIC gets pitted at this point for US, and actually gets a faster pit stop than VER, but his outlap is pretty slow as the tires had been difficult to warm up for everyone.

    Now it is lap 40, and VER new tires aren’t as warmed up as RIC. RIC stays close coming out of the old city and gets DRS for the main straight. About a hundred meters before the DRS activation point, Verstappen weaves all the way from the left side of the track to the right side and back again to try to prevent RIC from getting a slipstream (this is already an illegal move). RIC is on DRS and catching quick. About three rows back from the starting line, RIC throws the dummy to the right. VER follows out to the middle of the track about a half second later (a move in response, not in anticipation). As VER reaches close to the middle of the track, RIC is already tacking back to the left for the inside line. RIC passes the finish line speed trap at 340kph. They are only about a car length apart, and level with the 3rd braking marker sign from the corner (150 m) when VER starts to tack back inside, away from the racing line and into RIC’s line. At the 100m braking marker, RIC has about 3 from tire widths space to the wall and VER’s left rear tire is square in the middle of RIC’s car, about a half car length ahead. RIC is on the brakes, his right front instantly locking because he’s got less than 50% normal downforce on that side of the car because of the wash from VER’s car. He is actually angling his steering wheel to the right because the drag on the left side of his car would be pulling him left toward the wall. As soon as VER brakes, RIC hits him right around 90 m from the corner. Once RIC threw the dummy and then committed to the inside line, it was too late to change his line before braking, they were already in the braking zone.

    Commentary shortly after:
    Crofty: You have to ask the question as well, Paul, Daniel Riccardo deciding where he wants to drive next season. Does something like this help to make up your mind or not?. Does he stay or does he go? Does Daniel Riccardo say “If you’re going to keep doing this to me, Max, why be your teammate?””

    DiResta: Yeah, that’s what they’ve got to look at. They seriously have to look at how they go about their business. Red Bull have been very open in letting them race. It’s not going to dent how much they want to keep Daniel, after a moment of brilliance last week.

    Crofty: Yeah, but how much does Daniel want to stay at Red Bull?

    DiResta: Yeah, point taken. But until you get an offer from someone else, and it’s what you want…

  39. I am new to F1 because of the Netflix show have become a fan. Competition between all driver’s is how they improve their opportunities for success. Competition is fun for fans and investors. If I were a principle or owner, I would be livid if my two drivers ever collided or damaged my cars. I have no idea what sorts of penalties I could give them. I would just want the points and not suffer the repair bills. Regardless of the FIA rules, the fact that inter-team collisions happen at all would be inexcusable for me.

    Or, because I am new, is that the sort of drama that panders to fans and thus generates more revenue?

  40. 2 years later, I don’t agree with Daniel about this. Probably never will…

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