Ricciardo: Max pressure made me overdrive

Daniel Ricciardo has conceded that he “tried too hard” in some races as he felt the pressure from his team-mate Max Verstappen.

Both drivers were stung by their fair share of reliability issues throughout the 2017 season but, given Verstappen’s dominance in qualifying, it is a widely-held belief that the Dutchman would have beaten Ricciardo had they had a more reliable campaign with the Renault engine.

And the Aussie has now admitted that he overdrove the car in certain races to try and counter the threat.

“I would say it’s pushed me more than anything,” Ricciardo told Autosport.

“Sometimes, like in Budapest, there were a couple of races where I overdrove.

“I felt it was there and I tried to get too much out of it. But then that’s on me.

“I should know what the limit is and what I need to do to put the lap together.

“Sometimes I have tried a bit too hard.”

Verstappen, meanwhile, believes he has also had the beating of his team-mate, even if that is not reflected in the standings.

“So far I have always been able to beat my team-mate,” Verstappen also told Autosport.

“It may not show in the point standings, but in general I’ve always been ahead.”