Ricciardo wants ‘friction’ with Verstappen

Editor

Daniel Ricciardo has praised Max Verstappen for "maturing a lot" over the course of the 2017 season, but would not be adverse to having more "friction" next campaign.

Ricciardo and Verstappen have one of the better team-mate relationships on the grid but that came under pressure in Hungary when the latter caused a collision with Ricciardo which ended the Aussie's race on the first lap.

Reflecting on the incident and his relationship with Verstappen as whole, Ricciardo feels that the Dutchman handed the situation very well afterwards.

"The hot water in Budapest, that was a bit of a test," Ricciardo told Autosport.

"Fortunately he handled it well afterwards and apologised and did what he had to.

"So I feel like there is that respect for each other. Max matured a lot this year, on and off the track.

"On-track, he was more sensible. He was under a lot less scrutiny than he was last year.

"I feel like he also respects the competitors a bit more."

But Ricciardo would rather have some friction with Verstappen, as it would mean Red Bull are battling for victories and, more importantly, World Championships.

We'd race it out," he added. "If things happened, we'd find a way to deal with it but I'd still say it's a good problem to have.

"If there is a bit of friction, I'd rather that than be fighting for sixth and have no friction."