Ricciardo learning from Verstappen’s technique

2016 F1 season

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Daniel Ricciardo says he has been learning from Max Verstappen’s driving technique since his new team mate joined Red Bull earlier in the season.

Ricciardo said he tries to learn from learn from all his team mates in F1. His first team mate at Red Bull was Sebastian Vettel in 2014.

“I think with Max and Seb as team mates it’s two different points in their career,” said Ricciardo. “But equally you can still learn from both of them.”

“Seb’s experience, the way he interacted with the team is pretty interesting to see, that was cool.”

“And Max is coming in with a lot of youth, a lot of fire and energy. And a lot of new driving techniques which, let’s say, the younger kids are doing. So it’s interesting to learn from both of them.”

“I like having as many team mates as possible, it’s great, because the more people you can learn off, the better I think it will make you as a driver.”

Ricciardo said the media attention on Verstappen, who won in his first race with Red Bull in Spain earlier this year, does not affect him.

“I think Max is getting a lot of attention. He’s the youngest ever F1 driver and winner. So I get asked about him a lot, as well.

“But it’s not a hindrance. For him obviously it’s a lot of attention and pressure. For me, I keep doing my thing. I know he’s very talented. If I can get the upper hand on him then it’s a bit like with Seb. They’re very highly regarded drivers. If I can just do the job against them then it only helped me out.”

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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46 comments on “Ricciardo learning from Verstappen’s technique”

  1. The tecnique copying is annoying, but it’s also what you need to do to become a champion. Ricciardo is lucky to have had such teammates. He’s doing exactly what Webber was never able to do

    1. What? Are you implying that Ricciardo is not talented because he recognizes what’s quick and what’s slow? I think that’s exactly what makes Ricciardo talented. The top drivers tend to be the ones that work harder on their technique. Look at Senna, Schumi, Hamilton and apparently Ricciardo. Every driver has their own interpretation of what is quick.

      1. Where did he imply that “Ricciardo is not talented”??

  2. I’m a fan of Verstappen, but what a great guy Ricciardo is! I mean he’s always smiling, seeing things positively and you’ll almost never hear him say anything nasty, provocative or otherwise meant to pressure his team mate.

    It’s like a happy and Nico Rosberg. ;-)

    1. Arnoud van Houwelingen
      28th September 2016, 17:39

      He is smiling when everything goes well. He didn’t smile after Monaco and didn’t want to talk to his team for a couple of days. The big test is when he is fighting for a world title like Rosberg when the tension is much higher. We will see how he behaves then.

  3. Nice to see someone who regards his teammates as source to learn from instead of a threat to his position.

    Some of his view on life are Behaviors That Will Make You Unstoppable ( B.p. Hardy)

    Don’t compete with others. Make them compete with you.
    Confidence is your greatest asset
    Never be jealous or envious of someone else’s accomplishments.

  4. this speaks volumes of the humbleness of this guy. This is exactly the right mindset for a potential world champion imho. Hope it will happen soon. Go Ric Go!

    1. @liongalahad I mean yeah I like the guy and kinda hope he will win some day, but I question your quote “This is exactly the right mindset for a potential world champion imho. ”

      out of the current WDCs how many would you say mirror that quality, imo Ham, Vet, Alo, Rai, But, all seem confident in their own way of driving and don’t borrow or even say that they borrow many or much traits from others

      1. I would say they all borrow from wherever they can at all times. What they and Ricciardo say however is an entierly different thing. I bet Alonso where all over Stoffels data and asking him nonstop when he was a stand in and in media that would read as “Alonso is giving Stoffel a few tips” where its obviously going both ways all the time.

      2. Every single one of them borrows from other drivers when they see themselves outperformed, or at least tries to do so. Will they admit to it? Probably not, but that doesn’t mean they don’t do it, nor would they succeed if they didn’t do so.

        1. hamilton has intimated several times that he followed rosberg’s and button’s lead on setup/driving style. that is the mark of serious talent – to be able to adapt one’s style to circumstance. alonso is said to be a master of this and he has thrived in multiple eras.

          i remember a really good article about schumacher’s driving style in the late 90’s ferraris. he was turning in very early and sorting out all sorts of balance issues mid-corner. schumacher said emphatically this was not his preferred driving style – he said if he turned in as late as the mclarens and williams he simply wouldn’t make the corner! he had adapted his style to the shortcomings of the car he had. lo and behold when the ferrari became more ‘sorted’ his style changed to be more conventional.

          1. Yep, adaptability. Separates the goods from the greats. They are all super quick given the right circumstances but Alonso/Lewis and previously Schuey could drive round problems or the cars shortcomings. Apparently Rubins also had this ability to hustle a car but he didn’t get near a WDC. Nice chap Rubins so watch out Ricciardo !

          2. That’s more when they don’t have enough time to try out all the setup options. at Merc they used to divide testing duties and then pick whatever worked best as a base for both cars.

            It was Rosberg who reported that he sat with his engineer to go through Hamilon’s telemetry an analyse how Hamilton kept on beating him. It didn’t do him much good in the end though.

  5. I’m really not sure about the headline here, it’s a valid interpretation for sure I just don’t think he truly means that he’s learnt specifically from Max’s driving technique, rather the person. Vettel meshed extremely well with the team, and contrastingly here comes immature “younger kid” max with essentially a fire under him.

    Learning from someone doesn’t always mean mimicking, it’s just as valid to learn how not to go about things re: gaining respect from the grid by not cutting them off every time they make a move which is arguably one of Max’s “techniques”.

    He goes on further to add “For him obviously it’s a lot of attention and pressure.” which does nothing but add to it. If Max can’t see past the headline, the thought of Ricciardo gleaming into his data could very well send him on tilt – almost a reversal of what Vettel did to Webber by some accounts.

    Ricciardo has done an immaculate job developing his brand, and playing the cards he’s been dealt. He’s been incredibly smart behind those boyish charms which I think the enthusiasm of the comments above are a testament to.

    Either way, can’t wait to see the contest between these two progress.

    PS: I really have no idea, pure speculation on my part, I just remember Webber saying psychology plays a bigger part than most realise in the intricate F1 team-mate battles. I don’t think developing and practicing some well phrased lines is beyond possibility.

  6. He has such a great mindset and humility, improvement and success is almost inevitable with Ricciardo. I think in Ricciardo’s mindset every mistake/failure is an opportunity to learn, he never gets bogged down in defending his ego/mistake.

  7. This is one reason I really like Ricciardo so much as a person as well as a driver. Many drivers with their massive ego would never be able to make statements about their teammates like this. What a pleasure to have him in F1 with his driving talent and his exceptionally pleasing personality.

    1. Agree 100%. He is such a classy guy.

  8. I wonder if it takes your teammate to start beating you before you meticulously study how they go about things? I assume they are reactive and not so proactive….

    1. Possibly. I seem to remember Mika Hakkinen saying that DC made him raise his game and look what happened. Two WDC’s

  9. Ricciardo plays the game of being a teammate very well. To the casual observer it’s like he wants to learn from Max’ driving. I’m sure he Does that.

    But he also very cleverly puts pressure on Max by stating how much pressure there is for Max. And to add even more pressure, he compares Max with Vettel – and just happens to mention the way Vettel interacted with the team (leaving out how Max Does it).

    And all the fans are buying it: Teflardio…

    1. @verstappen I think you are reading way too much into it. I just think Danny is simply being sincere and smart, which is in keeping with his character to date. He’s a beast behind the wheel, one of the finest drivers I’ve ever seen, when his passion rises, he’s up for anything.

      The only gap, we’ve not seen much wheel to wheel action between Danny and anyone else. I just hope he gets the wheels to go up against Lewis, Vettel etc. I truly believe Danny is one of the very best out there. Keeping your eyes peeled and your mind open is what the greats are made of.

      What hasn’t been implied at this point is that Danny may also be learning what NOT to do from Max.

      1. Try alonso v Ricciardo at hockenheim in 2014. Wheel to wheel, clean and simple.

    2. Indeed; also “And a lot of new driving techniques which, let’s say, the younger kids are doing”
      has several interpretations.

      One of which is moving in the braking zone.

      Ricciardo is being subtle and PR friendly. Always say something positive even when it is not.
      I think the people in F1 who might in future hire Ricciardo will realise full well he is not conceding superior driving skill to Verstappen but rather subtly implying criticism of unsporting tactics by the young guys.

    3. And its working so far.

    4. @verstappen Max seems too strong an individual to be pressured by DR’s verbiage. I think this is just DR speaking his mind.

  10. Top guy this Riciardo. Maybe not top3 F1 driver, but for sure top3 guy in F1.

    And he is reaping results. Beating Seb in 2014, now Max…. Not a bad rep to have.

    1. @jureo not top3 f1 driver. You look at his performances, Ricciardo has an almost immaculate career thus far. Now he’s lacking the title challenge. I’d say Ricc, Alo, Ham.

      1. Nowehere near those 2. Lets see him sustain a WDC challenge and come out on top. Staggering comment really but perhaps you like his smile a lot.

    2. Funny.. I expected this to pop up in this topic… Ricciardo beating Vettel in 2014 is something that pops up all the team.
      2015 however never comes up… Ricciardo was beaten by Kvyat on points, Kvyat the same guy who got demoted and replaced by Verstappen in 2016.

      Up to Spa Ricciardo did a lot… except beating Verstappen.
      Ricciardo wasn’t all to relaxed with Verstappen coming to the team…and it showed.

      I won’t say Ricciardo is in any way a worse driver then Verstappen is, but surely wouldn’t say it’s the other way round.
      Just checking the points it’s rather easy to say one driver did beat the other.

      In truth… Ricciardo ofcourse is better then Kvyat like Ricciardo and Verstappen are awefully close matched if you take a away team favors and mechnical issues.

      1. In a normal year, without mechanical issues and penalties, Vettel would trash Ricciardo, both are fast but the german is more intelligent and constant.
        As you say, no one talks about 2015, not Ricciardo´s nor Vettel´s

        1. It was a normal year…..both had pretty much equal share of reliability and penalties…..lets not forget RIC’s DQ from 2nd at the aussie GP.

          1. “both had pretty much equal share of reliability ”

            Oh man, i dont know what Formula1 you were watching in 2014….

            Yes a GP where Vettel wasn´t even able to Qualify and didn´t race….
            And Ricciardo didn´t have a reliability issue, his car consumed more fuel than allowed by a RedBull mistake.

            Vettel and by far more issues, and penalties for changing parts.

      2. Ricciardo got the wrong end of the technical difficulties stick a lot of times in 2015. Also Ricciardo had nothing to lose and sometimes too a bit too much risk for an exceptional result instead of just finishing.

        Like for instance going for the Win in Hungary and ended up being rammed by both Hamilton and Rosberg. He could have won that race, but Kvyat didn’t do squat and ended up finisching ahead of Ricciardo.

        Vettel was flat out beaten by Ricciardo in just about every race. The only times when Vettel was ahead was again by technical difficulties or bad pitstops/strategy calls for Ricciardo. In those cases Ricciardo would end up being held up by Vettel. If he didn’t humiliate Vettel by a brilliant passing move (like Monza)

    3. Whats his racing number mate? There you go.

  11. Ricciardo is honest to god pretty much impossible to criticise. He does occasionally have a bit of a sulk like all fiercely competitive drivers. But even occasions like Monaco he still maintains an impressive level of dignity.

    It’s like someone took the humour of Vettel, the grit and straight talking of Webber, the self-belief of Hamilton and the talent of any of the best drivers on the field and stuck them in one guy.

    As a Brit I do find myself supporting Hamilton, but I find it impossible to harbour any criticism of Ricciardo.

  12. RIC is a very likable guy, super fast and apparently he knows how to play the psycological game as well.

    Schumacher was only beaten by a teammate (Irvine) when he broke his leg at Silvertone in ’99. Senna only lost once, when his teammate was Prost (who won the DWC that year).

    For Verstappen to be losing to Ricciardo this badly doesn’t look great in the light of the above tbh. Either he’s not in their league or RIC ís and we will see him winning DWC’s. I’m excited to find out next year(s), if and when RBR can get at Merc’s level that is.

    1. 18 years……….People have very short memories indeed

    2. @JeffreyJ Not sure I take your point. Are you comparing MV to MS and AS? If so I’m sure he(MV) would be flattered and will take heart that he only jumped into this team once the season was a third of the way started, so has been far less engrained with the car and the team than DR who was with them already and had the advantage of knowing the car starting with it’s unveiling.

      Let’s see how this inter-team rivalry goes once Max is on an equal footing starting with the unveiling and pre-season testing of the 2017 effort.

      1. Various pundits have been comparing VES with MS and Senna.

        VES started off very well with his win in Spain and further podiums in Austria, Britain and Germany but has thus far been beaten by RIC 10-2 (or something close) in qualy and about 20 pts since he joined RBR.

        RIC is beating soundley and that hasn’t happened to MS or Senna. That’s all I’m saying. Then again SEN gad 3 years in jr series and Schumacher even more. Plus VES is a WC at the highest level in karting, something both those legends didnt manage I believe, and neither did HAM, ROS, RAI, VET, ALO and BUT.

        Look I’m a VES fan and I know he’s young and talented. I just hope he’s all that they are saying and so far he has been underwhelming slightly at RBR imho

  13. Too early to say how good both driver at RB are until they have a more competitive car. Maybe next year! More interesting this year is how will Hamilton overtake Rosberg again and win this years WDC.

    1. I dont think he will.

    2. Too early to say how good both driver at RB are until they have a more competitive car.

  14. Max has overtaken Ricciardo twice in a race and Daniel didn’t see it coming. Better try to learn that. Overtaking in places where no one expects it. He did it on Kvyat last race.

    Max is the master of using grip. Remember how he overtook Rosberg at Silverstone. He said that, before he made his overtaking move, he had tested grip on both sides of the corners first. So he knew what was possible. Right when Nico made a mistake he made his move. No hesitation. That’s amazing for such a young driver. Always thinking ahead.

  15. Smart move from Dan to improve his driving if he see’s something that makes him quicker, they all do it Max said not long ago he has leant on Dan’s set up but some other drivers would see it as a sign of weakness to admit they don’t know its all.

    Dan really is a top bloke, what you see is what you get. My son spoke to him a few times and had some photo’s in Melbourne this year and Dan recognised him right away and spent some extra time in Singapore a few weeks back (yes us being Aussie does help).

    I think he’s up there with the best of them and hope RBR can give him and Max a car to give it a real shot next year!

  16. Too early to say how good both driver at RB are until they have a more competitive car. – lol

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