Verstappen is "fair and clean" - Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo has admitted that if Red Bull produce a championship winning car next year, fights with his team mate Max Verstappen will be hard but fair.

The two were pitched against each other for the majority of the 2016 season, both claiming a win each. However, Ricciardo said there is a chance for them to be more competitive with each other if given the right car.

“I’ll be realistic, and naturally if Max and I are fighting for the title next year, it would be natural for it to become more competitive [between us],” he told ESPN. 

“You might feel a bit more pressure, but if I’m honest I always feel like I race with respect and if he beats me fair and square I will just say that, even though I don’t like getting beaten, he deserves it.

“I don’t see any reason to have friction, obviously in Malaysia [when Ricciardo and Verstappen ended up in a wheel-to-wheel battle] in the end that battle was for the win and I think we handled it well – we raced hard and fair.

“I think it would only change if we let the outside [influences] start to creep into us, otherwise I’ve had fun with Max and I’m looking forward to it and hopefully we’ll have some good battles. I think the team is excited.”

The Australian admits that he recognizes  Verstappen's youth but says he shows no sign of it when he's on the racetrack.

“We’ve seen he races hard and on the limit sometimes, but when it comes down to it he’s fair and clean. We got through with our heads still screwed on.

“He’s young, but in racing terms I think he’s very mature. He’s been around the sport a long time, and he may have only reached puberty a few weeks ago, but beyond that he’s pretty smart.”

Fergal Walsh