Ricciardo urges Verstappen to "keep his chin up" through tough period

Daniel Ricciardo has urged teammate Max Verstappen to keep his chin up amid the struggle the Dutchman is going through. Verstappen has had a poor run of luck in 2017, having retired from four of the last six races, three of which coming from car problems.

While Red Bull has made a rather unspectacular start to the season, Ricciardo claimed hs first win of the season in Baku two weeks ago while Verstappen was forced to retire early on with an engine issue. The Dutchman has completed the fewest laps of any full-time driver this year and sits 108 points behind championship leader Sebastian Vettel.

"It is hard not to get frustrated but you have just got to keep your chin up," Ricciardo said to ESPN. "He's driving well, it is not as if he is driving terribly and things are happening as well.

"That is what he has to keep positive about and these things turn around. If you keep persisting and keep driving well it will eventually fall into place. This sport is crazy, all it takes is one good weekend and you are back on Cloud Nine."

Teammates since the Spanish Grand Prix in 2016, Ricciardo and Verstappen have formed a friendship that is evident off-track. On-track, Ricciardo knows that they both want the same thing and want to go about it the same way, which is healthy for Red Bull.

"He is still pretty young in age but he is older in the sport than in his years, if that makes sense." Ricciardo continued. "He's super passionate about [Formula One], intelligent around the team and knows a lot about the technical side and racing.

"I think we have some similarities in the way we go about things. We are both pretty fierce and also very driven. We still have respect for each other and therefore we have kept a pretty good rivalry which isn't always easy when you're fighting for what we're fighting for."

Fergal Walsh