F1 News
Ricciardo feels Verstappen is quicker than Vettel over one lap
- Bevan Youl
Daniel Ricciardo feels that Max Verstappen is currently quicker than Sebastian Vettel over one lap in Formula 1.
The Australian has partnered both of the drivers during his time at Red Bull in F1, having partnered Vettel when he moved up to the senior team from Toro Rosso in 2014, and Verstappen since 2016 until his departure to Renault this season.
Ricciardo was talking to 2016 World Champion Nico Rosberg on his Beyond The Grid podcast when he said: "I won't take anything away from Seb, he is not slow by any means.
"Probably as well because Max is still young, and if he's quick now, he's probably only going to get quicker.
"Seb has been doing it that long, I think you always improve as a driver, but there's less room for him to grow, and more for Max.
“If Seb's listening, sorry Seb."
Ricciardo, who won 3 races in his first year at Red Bull in 2014, also spoke of his time driving alongside Vettel and how the four-time World Champion ‘lived and breathed racing’.
"I was excited for that challenge, the on-track challenge but also to see how he worked off-track," he added.
"There was a lot of attention to detail. He lives and breathes racing.
"I felt he didn't have many other hobbies. It was just racing and he was really absorbed by it. He had a good way of communicating, he was firm but not disrespectful.
"If something wasn't good enough, he would say 'It's not good enough, we can do better', but it got the message across. He was direct but was still kind. He shook everyone's hand and had a good balance."