After last week's race in Mexico the rift between teammates Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen was highlighted for the world to see. Throughout the practise sessions Max had topped the time sheets but this changed for Saturday's qualifying session, when Daniel Ricciardo managed to snatch pole by 0.026 of a second.
With obvious celebrations in order after the Australian's poor season filled with DNFs, in which his car has now failed to get him over the finish line 8 times this season! Albeit one was a spectacular crash between the two teammates in Baku. But with that many DNFs this season, amounting to 42% of non-finishes, its hard not to feel sorry for Daniel Ricciardo.
After Ricciardo's spectacular pole lap he was overjoyed, "I’m just super happy. It’s been a while since pole. It’s been a while since we had a pretty good weekend in general and we’ve been quick all weekend." Daniel's celebrations were justifiable after the shocking season he's had, but Jos Verstappen, Max Verstappen's father and former F1 driver, was quick to criticise the Australian's celebrations stating," He (Max Verstappen) was irritated because he missed out on pole and because of the car, but also because of Ricciardo's exuberance celebrating pole."
Max Verstappen clearly looked angry and annoyed in the post qualifying press conference, avoiding eye contact and keeping his face in his hands. With this in mind, can we still praise Max for his maturity in the way he approaches the sport, when all it takes is his teammate beating him? Bearing in mind there are now many young drivers on the grid such as Charles Leclerc who is the same age as Max, 21. Although, the Monegasque may not have the same pressure as the Dutchman in a top team, we will soon find out how Leclerc performs under such pressures at Ferrari next season.
What a difference a day makes, Sunday was a completely different story. Daniel struggled of the line as opposed to Max who managed to lead into the first corner and held the lead throughout the race right to the finish line. Whilst on the other side of the garage, Daniel's car failed to see the checkered flag yet again...
Has Jos Verstappen highlighted an issue that has been simmering for a long time, or is this just a one-time thing? What we do know is that Ricciardo has opted out of staying at RedBull for 2019...
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