Verstappen rues “crap” season so far

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In the round-up: Max Verstappen says his season has been “crap” so far.

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Keith Collantine
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103 comments on “Verstappen rues “crap” season so far”

  1. Listening to Max you’d think it was his birthright to be challenging for wins every weekend.
    I’d just love to see him swap seats with Alonso for the year to give a new perspective on things.

    1. HA! You beat me to it, exactly what I was about to say!

      On the flip side, you can’t really blame him. Entitlement is synonymous with the general millenial’s expectation, so he probably does think that it is his birth right to win.

      Max and his backroom staff will throw anybody under the bus to win. Some say this is the attitude you require to succeed in F1, and perhaps in life. Expect him start kicking more of a stink as the season wears on.

      1. @yoshif8tures
        Are you guys kidding me? I see people make the same comments about Lewis. Have you never competed in sports? Maybe you weren’t very good & didn’t have that demanding drive to win?

        If you a PROFESSIONAL race car driver of course you expect to win & when you are amazing like Max you know how well you can perform/drive once everything is in the right place.

        He knows his talent & obviously the world can see it.

        1. Dave Lexapro
          13th June 2017, 4:39

          The world sees Max as a boy trying to be an alpha male man. He is young and has the most upside potential of all the current drivers. However, lacks that million dollar smile of Daniel Ricciardo. Atm, below Hamilton and Ricciardo… but on par with Vettel.

          1. Ah, I was starting to wonder where you guys were, the ‘We seize every chance to talk down Vettel’-club

          2. Pls…you lost me when you said…below Ricciardo…he is wiping the floor with Ricciardo in Q and during the races..only bad luck can stop Max making Ricciardo even more AVG. Ricci got 3 podiums and none of them he won on merit….he got very lucky Bottas get rid of Max, Kimi and himself in Spain, Max got the worse strategy in Monaco and was 0.732 avg per lap quicker than Ricci in Canada only to get a batterij faillure. Max is allready in that top 4 bracket with Lewis, Nando and Vettel but has all the potential to be in the bracket of Senna and Schumi or even surpas them….so yes, I do understand why he is saying all this. Every real F1 fan wants to see a driver like Max fighting for the win…as he is the most talenten and exciting driver in years..so yes, maybe it is his godgiven birthright

          3. @Dave Lexapro
            Below Ricciardo, hahahahaha, guess you’re watching the 2015 season again, because he is wiping the floor with Ricciardo.
            But besides that, I feel sorry for Max, I feel sorry for Alonso and I feel sorry for every true F1 lover that their engine sucks and that most podiums this season are occupied by people who do not deserve to be there.

        2. @s2g-unit At least one can understand why some drivers are “PR robots”

        3. No, Lewis does that when he losses it; I think he is genuinely a nice guy until disappointment or frustration flips him over.

          Max on the other hand does is as a plan.

      2. @jaymenon10, I think that it says more about yourself than you meant when you complained about Verstappen being an “entitled millenial” when most observers would say that Verstappen is too young to fit into that category.

        As @s2g-unit says, quite a large chunk of the grid almost certainly have the same attitude of expecting success by virtue of being who they are and the talent they have.

        1. Verstappen 3 DNF’s, 1- 3rd, 3- 5ths Points 45
          Riciardo 2 DNFs, 3- 3rds, 1-4th, 1- 5th. Points 67
          Wiping the floor? lol

          1. Sure, Daniel Riccardio is at home, not worried at all about the speed,qualifications, starts and race craft of his almost ten years younger teammate because he has a 22 point lead in the WDC. Believe it yourself?
            I am 100% convinced that Ricciardo’s stock value has dropped after Canada, and that from Max has risen once again.

          2. You know ffcourse if Max wasn’t hinder by so much bad luck, he would have ended all those 3 races on the podium on merit and Ricciardo wouln’t have 1 shot for a podium chance…he got those gifted to him. So Max lost alot of points and Ricciardo gained those points…he’s been very lucky. Max IS wiping the floor with Ricci in Q an R….and not only the fans and pundits but all teambosses are seeing this aswell. It’s like 2015 again when Kvyat got more points than Ricci…and we all know how that happend…don’ t we now??

            Max and Ricciardo’ s contracts will endure to the end of net season..and I know who Mercedes and Ferrari want first…quality above friendly

          3. While I’m not the biggest fan of Verstappen (certainly true for the old-timer, less so for the kid), you need to take in account that luck and strategy play a big role on race-ends. Redbull has a history of using inventive strategy to force other teams in a sub-optimal strategy, while gaining the points with the other car. This happened a few times with VET-RIC, where RIC made gains, Happened last year with RIC-VES, where VES got a benefit, and this year it’s been the other way around. Most often it’s their best performer who has to threaten the opposition, while the least performing driver gets the benefit. VES can complain about Monaco, but this was a perfect executed strategy, masterclass, IMHO.

          4. It’s about the points missed for Verstappen… which are around 40
            Ricciardo only missed 6 points, but more remarkable he won around 20 due to other drivers DNF.

            The more Verstappen looses in front of Ricciardo the more points Ricciardo gets, that is the painfull truth so far this season.

            Indeed Verstappen is wiping the floor with his team mate, better in near every FP and Q session this season and better in all races. Ricciardo hasn’t been in front longer than 10 lap except in Monaco thanks to the team strategy. After 7 races that is considered as been wiping the floor

        2. Well according to latest citation in this Wikipedia page, Master Max does qualify as a millennial.

          https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennials

          I don’t make the rules, I just copy and paste.

      3. petebaldwin (@)
        13th June 2017, 16:41

        @jaymenon10 – I love the whole “millennial” thing that has started up because the “old gits” are unhappy about not longer being in control. It’s funny to watch power hope slowly fade away until all they are have is name calling….. :D It’s like a full picture from being a child to being an adult and then back again.

        1. @petebaldwin As I am 33 years old, I too was once, and in some circles still am, considered a millenial.

          While being aware that this isnt a social history forum, just like the generational post WWII tags such as Baby Boomers and Generation X, Millenial is a descriptor for a certain demography. It certainly was not meant to be an insult.

    2. Calm down.

      I think many of us, Max included, would have been forgiven in thinking Newey would have helped produce a front-running car for this season.

      Even on its good day, it’s still only third best, which has to be considered a disappointment.

      1. Oh murph settle down, the is point is max’s bad luck is no worse than Ric’s since teammates and you are also banging about a lot of ifs buts and maybe’s..

    3. As horner said “Max” is like a excitable puppy.

      1. Oh bogaaa, 3 dnf’s versus 2 dnf’s actually means Max’ luck is worse, especially since Max his dnf’s were all in the points (and leading Ricciardo).
        And about those if’s and but’s and maybe’s: Do you believe Ricciardo is not worried at all by his teammate because he leads by 22 points?

        1. Yep Murph he certainly doesnt look worried, in fact fair from it.

          1. Denial is a wonderful trait.

          2. Murph your “wiped the floor” comment has been wrecked in here..except it and move on

          3. Hahahahaha, sure dude, I’ve so far seen no argument whatsoever, besides you’re lame 2dnf equals 3 dnf’s excuse, that shows Verstappen isn’t wiping the floor with Ricciardo. Accept it and move on.

          4. Ha ha DuD!! look what read, l said teamates, if either driver has had the rub of the green with luck its been Max…Ric lucked out on 2 wins last year with Mono and Spain…move on Dud

        2. Counting DNF’s is like counting points, it doesn’t tell a single thing about a drivers racecraft and potential.

          Without DNF’s Ver would have been 3rd in the championship… well maybe 4th as Bottas and Raikkonen also DNF-ed.

          The fact is while Max if fighting Mercedes, Ricciardo is fighting Force India.

          In F1 you need that bit of luck with reliability, when it comes to racecraft Verstappen is giving it all this season, doesn’t hold back giving it all each race…cause honestly, what has he got to loose..?

    4. Arnoud van Houwelingen
      13th June 2017, 17:04

      I am sure that Alonso find his season “crap” as well don’t you think???? but he only respond in political correct answers while Verstappen just says it like it is .. i mean 3 DNF’s in the last 6 races and being on the wrong stick of strategy in Monaco justifies his feeling in my opinion .. dutch people are always straight forward with their answers in general!

  2. The awful truth of why Red-Bull manages the car around the Renault engine so poorly is down to the very sole and important fact – but bluntly overlooked fact by many – that will make McLaren never leave Honda = You can’t win if your engine supplier has their own team in F1. Max knows that even if Red-Bull makes the leap then he will see Hulkenberg, Kubica, Perez or maybe even Alonso contending at Renault even though because of the Concorde agreement he needs to have the WDC-winning Red-Bull by 2020, which isn’t just done, just look at Ferrari.

    Just follow the stats; There has not been ONE genuine win of a team with an engine supplier that also had their own factory team in 6 years! Do people even know how long ago a customer team (which is what Red-Bull de facto is, only with a very high budget) won without one-day miracles? So counting out… Spain 2016 (Nico, Ham), Canada 2014 (Nico’s MGU-K and Ham’s brakes), Spa 2014 (Mercedes crash) Hunagry 2014 (The Ericsson wonder of Hungary). 2012.

    He knows Ron Dennis was right when he said ”customers can’t win titles”, but he can’t change teams. And the team doesn’t want to lose him. He’s stuck and realizing it. Cut the kid some slack.

    1. 5* years. (editing button donate option?)

    2. @xiasitlo, technically, Red Bull’s contract meant that, up until the start of this year, they were the Renault works team – it is only from this year onwards that they have become a customer team.

      The thing is, whilst there are those that say that customer teams can’t do well, on the other hand almost no customer teams have the potential resources to compete with the biggest teams. Force India, for example, does a pretty impressive job to be the 4th best team in the field when they probably only have the 7th largest budget, but when they have only a fraction of what the larger teams can spend, there is a limit to what they can achieve.

    3. That whole “customer teams can’t win titles” is not accurate. For example Red Bull won in 2010 and Renault was at the grid. If a works team produces a bad chassis, nothing prevents the customer team from fighting for championships.

      What Dennis said, is that if the works team have a decent car and they compete against the works team, the former is at and obvious disadvantage, as nothing stops them from not offering the exact same spec, especially nowadays that software and mappings are as important as the hardware itself.

      In hindsight, McLaren could have been much better with Mercedes power, fighting for podiums and the occasional race win, however they wanted to try and be a “works” team again. Right now, they will probably revert to Mercedes (or even Renault) power, until the new engine formula comes at 2020, when they should try and push for either a third party engine (as Red Bull wants too) or persuade some brand from the VAG group to join them.

      1. Edit: *compete against the customer team*

  3. VER ruined Vettel race which could cost the championship, he is a very dangerous driver….he should learn from the masters like Lewis, Vettel, Perez and Co.
    Why they allow VER to put at risk everybody races and nobody says anything?

    1. He had an amazing start & was very aggresive as he should have done. He did nothing wrong & he did not need to be penalized. We really don’t need F1 going back to the last few years where everything a driver did got them a stupid penalty.

      1. Miss Aligned
        13th June 2017, 8:47

        On the other hand – he did run over vettel’s front wing and was lucky not to have a puncture at the least.

      2. Arad (@just-an-fan)
        13th June 2017, 11:20

        He did nothing wrong because it was Vettel who got hit. God knows what would you lot cry out for if it was your hero Lewis who was hit by Max. :))

    2. I’m not a Max fan but come on cut the boy some slack (even Seb said he did not blame Max for this collision). Max is having a pretty bum season so far but he is a great talent and of course he expects to be up there racing and challenging for podiums, if he didn’t believe that, he would not be there in the first place.

      1. Max blamed Vettel though. Telling Sebastian’s loss of front wing was not his problem and Vettel should have braked earlier if he wanted to avoid it. I really appreciate the kid’s talent, and I’m happy if he does well.. but it are comments like these that make me dislike his personality.

    3. Perez and Vettel..are you serious? There is a big difference between being dangerous and agressive, although being in full controll.

    4. Utter rubbish

    5. @Armando/MissAligned
      Sure, no one on the grid is blaming Verstappen for Vettel’s front wing, not even Vettel, but you guys/girls keep persisting it was Max’s fault. We all must be wrong and hate F1, right?
      Armando, I am convinced that the irony of you mentioning Vettel and Perez as examples of, well, risk free driving is completely missed by you. (Tears in my eye from laughing. Better than the funny pages.)

      1. Arad (@just-an-fan)
        13th June 2017, 11:21

        Yeah, Vettel is not blaming because his is sterilized by Hamilton got talent show’s PR management. God know what would have happened if Max had hit Lewis.

        1. You really hate Lewis.
          I’m pretty sure if Hamilton had reacted in the same way than nobody would have said anything, but I do think it’s less likely he would have reacted like Vettel did.
          But I think you’re missing the point – the concern is about Max, not Seb. What Lewis would’ve done is irrelevant.

    6. Sainz drives into Grosjean, then plowes into the wall before torpedoing Massa, yet Max is a dangerous driver. Go figure…

      I see this dumb@ss remark every now and then. Maybe you should take your i hate Max verstappen blinders off, you’ll enjoy it more.

  4. CrayMax, the new Alonso.

    1. Totally unfair and an insult to Fernando.

      1. Or an insult to Max.

    2. Still two WDC shy.

      So ‘man with the camera’ you’re stuck with your Alonso complex for now :p

      1. WDC
        Vettel 4
        Hamilton 3
        Crybaby alonso 2
        CryMax 0

  5. I don’t know why others are after Max. Daniel was in a sullen mood for so long after the Spain and Monaco last year. And frankly, Max has been better than Daniel this year. 2 of his 3 retirements have been from very good positions, P4 in Bahrain and P2 in Canada.

  6. I guess you’d say the RB13 is “unlucky for some”, eh?

    1. Well Williams and then McLaren were quite successful with the FW13 and MP4-13 respectively.

      1. Fukobayashi (@)
        13th June 2017, 10:01

        @geemac he’s referring to the marketing slogan that Red Bull launched this car with.

        @helava COTD!

        1. I know…they made such a fuss about 13 being in the chassis name while forgetting that there have been a few successful F1 chassis with 13 in the name.

  7. I have seen the interview that is translated here in Dutch, his own language. And let me tell you the arrogance he is showing in his choice of words is absolutely unasked for. And that does not shine through in the translation to English. Yes, he might be the next coming but there is no reason to be this arrogant and disrespectful towards your co-racers and team. ‘The best start Red Bull has ever had’, sure… The Dutch interviewer isn’t helping either, he’s encouraging Max to be like this and seems to aim his questions towards aggressive responses, even thanking him for the way he responded.

    All in all I do understand his frustration (although poorly expressed), surely he expected to be fighting for more wins rather than that one-off in Spain by now, and seeing Ricciardo inherit another ‘luck‘ podium surely doesn’t help that.

    I guess this is good preparation for when he is eventually fighting for an actual championship and has to cope with bad luck or a crash that wasn’t his fault, maturity comes with age I guess. Can’t wait to see how he would handle wat Vettel had on sunday. Even Hamilton occasionally doesn’t handle it all that gracefully.

    1. The best start Red Bull ever had is what they told him after the race, probably out of consolation.

    2. But isn’t every Dutchman seen as arrogance… But seen the interview he isn’t arrogance just realistic.
      But your right the interviewer is an piece of ego promo and dentist of the F1 paddock.

      The RB13 seems really unlucky maybe the next update they should promote the car to RB14a

      1. 👍🏼 about the dentist interviewer (you are right). Max is good and “life” experience comes with age (he is a winner whatever it takes him)

    3. The best start was what the engineers told him; and when he said he it looked like he couldn’t care less if it was.
      Nontheless, it was one of the best starts I have ever seen, and I loved it.
      Btw, I’ve seen the interview too, and I saw a very justifiable frustrated young man expressing his emotion and when you can drive like he did in Canada, pulling away from a Merc after that aforementioned start, and it gets taken away again, then you have every right to come over as he did.

    4. i didn’t see any arrogance in the Dutch interviews. Maybe because I’m Dutch.

      I like people that speak their mind instead of PR blabla

    5. The Dutch F1 coverage is ridiculous with respect to Verstappen (in general too, sky-viewers are very privileged…). If he farts the expert analists will claim it smells like roses.
      If Verstappen does a bland PR interview, he’s called realistic or mature.
      But the analists really love interviews like this, so they can talk at length about what a real character Verstappen is, compared to all other drivers without a personality.

      Verstappens career up to this season has been on the rise all the time. Now for the first time he has hit a bump in the road, and let’s be honest, a very small one. He just seems to have a little trouble coping with this minor adversity. Some people learn from such experiences, some don’t. So in true Kimi-style: “we’ll have to wait and see” what group Verstappen fits in.

    1. Ferrari, Seb fan
      13th June 2017, 7:14

      +1. Sky are very biased towards British drivers.

    2. Sky have become an embarrassment in every respect.

      If it wasn’t bad enough that viewers have to contend with non-Sky issues (terrible onscreen timing graphics, awful direction of feed), Sky’s broadcasting (commentary, punditry, impartiality, force-fed betting) has hit rock bottom, and not all of a sudden.

      I wonder if Liberty’s eye is keen enough on these things? Surely it’s their responsibility to make sure their product is shown in the best, most effective light? These days watching Sky has become excruciating, particularly so considering what a great season this is shaping up to be. Channel 4 is a good alternative (far more professional and focused on Formula 1), but what we’re enduring doesn’t bode well for Sky’s UK monopoly paywall starting in 2019.

      Is it possible that Chase and the guys at Liberty can come up with some alternative platform, giving fans freedom of choice and preventing a dreaded monopoly?

      1. It’s tragic that F1 will not be live on free to air TV from 2019 in the U.K. The C4 coverage is superior to Sky in nearly every respect and you don’t have to pay money, albeit indirectly, to the antipodean leach that is Murdoch.

        I do hope Liberty will come up with something in time for 2019.

  8. I completely understand Verstappen’s frustation. Ricciardo has just hit a hattrick of podiums and is ahead in the standings, but a closer look reveals Verstappen having the far better season with nothing to show for it:
    Quali: Verstappen ahead 4-3 (that used to be where Ricciardo was unbeatable)

    Aus: no comparison due to Ricciardo’s issues
    China: Verstappen 3rd from 17th, Ric behind
    Bahrain: Verstappen ahead when he retired
    Russia: Verstappen ahead when Ric retired
    Spain: Verstappen faster all weekend, ahead when he retired (albeit first corner tag), Ric gets podium somehow
    Monaco: Verstappen ahead, Ric gets better strategy, Ric makes strategy work very well, finishes podium
    Canada: Verstappen ahead when he retired, in 2nd place he would likely have kept.

    And here he is with rather empty hands, getting bashed for being daring into the first corner where it’s exactly what people love about Alonso. Here he was, expecting to finally truly challenge for wins. Here he is, having improved himself so much that he’s now beating everyone’s darling Ricciardo, and he has nothing to show for it. I can completely understand he thinks it’s crap.

    1. Amen…you hit the nail on the head with ur post ÷10

    2. Well spoken. +1

    3. Spain: Verstappen faster all weekend, ahead when he retired (albeit first corner tag), Ric gets podium somehow

      Very disingenuous of you. motor racing is a give no quarter game, at the moment Ricciardo is in front because he has finished more and finished in front. at the end of the season who knows. Qualifying does not win races Monaco accepted.

      1. Last season the argument in Ricciardo’s favour was that qualifying was a clear sign he was still ahead.
        Last season the argument in Ricciardo’s favour was also points. The year before Kvyat finished ahead of Ricciardo in points and everyone quickly went: yeah, but qualifying is in Ricciardo’s favour and also the amount of retirements.

        You can’t have it both ways.

    4. Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
      13th June 2017, 9:39

      @hahostolze

      I agree with Australia and China but not much else as I think we can’t really judge them when they retire so early.

      Verstappen wasn’t ahead in Bahrain when he retired. He retired on lap 12 just after he pitted. Just before he pitted, he was only just ahead of Ricciardo who was in DRS range and there is nothing saying Ricciardo won’t have been able to beat Verstappen in the 45 laps remaining. A bit unfair to compare them both really.

      In Russia, Ricciardo had to retire on lap 5 down to brake issues. Yet another race where it really is unfair to compare them. Just because Verstappen had a better start doesn’t mean he’ll keep the position.

      In Spain, Verstappen being faster all weekend so far doesn’t always mean the same will happen in the race, and we didn’t get the chance to see that so we just don’t know who well he’ll have done against Ricciardo.

      In Monaco, Verstappen did have better performance in practice and especially Q3 but I think Ricciardo was a little stronger in the race. Teams usually pit the driver that is leading first which usually helps, so how would they have known it would result in a better strategy? Ricciardo just did some mighty laps when Verstappen pitted and it resulted in him jumping both him and Bottas. I wouldn’t say the strategy actually worked out any better. Verstappen managed to get a free pit stop during the safety car and put some faster tyres on but still couldn’t manage to get past Bottas. But I understand this will have been difficult.

      In Canada, Verstappen retired early on yet again, so a comparison is a little difficult to do. I think it is most likely he’ll have finished 3rd ahead of his team mate. I do really doubt that Verstappen will have managed 2nd. They are just not close enough to Mercedes yet. Especially considering this is a track that Mercedes looked much stronger than Ferrari too. Even though Bottas finished 18 seconds behind Hamilton, Ricciardo was about that gap behind Bottas and I don’t think Verstappen will have managed to stay ahead for much longer than he did. Bottas was really close to overtaking many times just before Verstappen retired.

      I’ll admit it. Verstappen is looking much stronger than last year, but it has been so tricky to compare them this season.

      China and Monaco are the only races I think it is fair to compare them in as that is unbelievably the only 2 races where both drivers have finished. This team just has so many reliability issues.
      Verstappen certainly has got better at qualifying, but I can’t say he’s better just yet until we’ve seen more races where it is fair to compare them. Verstappen in the last year has normally been very good in the wet in the races, and that is the only race where it has been clear when he’s been better than Ricciardo in China. When it is dry, I have a feeling Ricciardo could well still have the edge over him.

      1. Here I am, trying to be factual rather than use arguments based on feeling, and getting told that the facts are disingenous and that you have a feeling that Ricciardo could still have the edge. I give up.

        Also, I fully give Ricciardo credit in my comment for Monaco, he made that strategy work perfectly. But it was the better strategy in hindsight. People will never stop talking about the strategy that cost Ricciardo in Spain last year, which was the worst one only in hindsight, so why can’t I mention that Verstappen’s was the worst in hindsight here? Double standards.

        I think it’s entirely fair to compare drivers retiring early in the race when they’re ahead. It’s the only part of the race they’ve both been on the track. You could extrapolate your argument for eternity, even after 45 laps spent ahead and then retiring you could continue arguing that maybe in the final ten laps things would be different.

        Both in Canada and in Russia there were cars in between the two RB drivers when one retired, Verstappen being ahead both times (Spain would have been too, but let’s stick to facts). That’s not just down to a start, that’s just a fanciful argument.
        If to you the only race where Verstappen has clearly been better than Ricciardo is China, I suggest you have a look at the rest of the season, but that’s just me.

        1. People see what they want to see….always making excuses why Ricciardo is doing such a great Job while if you look closely, Ricciardo doesn’ t stand a chance against Verstappen. Sure, points tell othetwise but the circumstances Ricci got these points, tell me much much more

        2. @hahostolze, I have to agree that @thegianthogweed that extrapolating from the opening laps of a race can end up producing a misleading picture of the final result.

          If you had extrapolated the running order from the opening laps of the Bahrain GP at a similar time to when Verstappen retired, you’d have predicted that Bottas would have won ahead of Vettel and Hamilton – a completely different top three to the running order we actually saw at the end of the race. I do feel that it is fair to say, just as @thegianthogweed has said, that you seem a little overconfident in your extrapolations – indeed, I get the feeling that, if they had suggested a less positive position for Verstappen, you’d be arguing against those extrapolations holding any value.

        3. Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
          13th June 2017, 19:09

          @hahostolze
          I have recorded all the races and before I replied to your comment, I flicked through to make sure I didn’t miss anything and start making things up before I wrote than post.

          Both in Canada in Russia, it certainly is true that Verstappen had the better start, but in Russia, it wasn’t long at all before Ricciardo started to have issues with his brakes which will may have affected his pace a little at the start. That was a just a tiny fraction of the race and we don’t know what could have happened.

          In Canada, that was another race Where Verstappen had a much better start, but we just don’t know if that pace will have continued. My opinion is that it is unfair to compare them when they have hardly had a chance to race against each other. It is true that Verstappen has been better overall in the very short amount of time we’ve seem them both racing but then as we both have said, Ricciardo certainly was strong in Monaco.

          If we just base it on races where they have both done the whole race, then it is only China and Monaco that we can look at really. Verstappen was much better in China and they were about the same level in the other.
          Verstappen may have had better starts in most of the others but we just don’t know what the end result could have been because they hardly did any laps at all togeather over those 5 other races. I’ve added up the amount of laps Verstappen and Riccirardo have done excluding the 2 races they both completed. It is just 28. and 2 of these 5 races the driver either didn’t start or got took out in the first corner. Even in the 3 that they did both start, yes Verstappen has got better starts but has hardly done any laps at all before one of them has to retire. So it really is a little unfair to compare them based on this.

          I still agree with what Brundle says on Sky. He also thinks that although Verstappen is getting better, Ricciardo is still that bit better still.

          2 full races + 28 laps of the other ones put together just isn’t enough to decide one is better than the other. But I’m just basing it on the past. And last year, I think Ricciardo did overall look stronger than Verstappen most of the time.

          Verstappen has certainly got better at qualifying but 4 – 3 isn’t yet dominating Riccardo. Even though Verstappen did have bad luck in China, we can’t be sure that he’ll have managed to beat Ricciardo in Q3 there either.

      2. How many times has Verstappen overtaken Ricciardo in the race versus how many times has Ricciardo overtaken at all?

    5. @hahostolze

      Monaco: Verstappen ahead, Ric gets better strategy, Ric makes strategy work very well, finishes podium

      Actually, the strategy thing is rather interesting. Red Bull now develops a history where the ‘alternative’ strategy for the chasing Red Bull driver appears to be working out better than the strategy for the leading Red Bull driver. The alternative strategy that Verstappen was on in Spain 2016 proved to be the correct one, same goes for Ricciardo and Monaco 2017. I do not believe that one driver is favoured over the other, I just feel that Red Bull’s preferred strategy often work out wrong.

      1. Well Red Bull is only one team in the strategy game. Circumstances can make the 2nd best strategy be the best. Like Barcelona last year when Red Bull tried to cover Vettel with RIC and VER made his tyres last and kept a quicker RAI behind him

  9. Only saw the race yesterday evening, and noticed that Hamilton took the Union Jack when being weighed.
    Lucky he didn’t get disqualified ;)

    1. Sorry I don’t follow your logic.

    2. Despite what the commentators said, it appeared to me as though he unfurled it while the car was in motion, so he was carrying it in the car with him from the start of the race. If so, he was correct to have worn it. If he had discarded it before being weighed THEN he’d have been breaking the rules.

    3. Evil Homer (@)
      14th June 2017, 13:45

      Yes but the drivers are meant to weigh in before going to hug & celebrate with the team, but none of them ever do- maybe Lewis has been getting lead weights dropped into his helmet all this time :)

  10. There are spaces at Mercedes and Ferrari next year

    1. Most of the teams have vacancies. I believe the only team with two contracted drivers for 2018 is Red Bull Racing.
      Thinking about it, I can’t help but think Perez’s stance of not letting Ocon overtake him won’t have increased his chances of a seat at Mercedes or Ferrari, I suspect they would prefer someone who is more compliant. He might even have jeopardised his own seat at Force India.

      1. Pérez brings a good amount of money to the team plus he’s probably one of the best drivers a midfield team could have. I doubt Force India would get rid of him just because of this..

  11. Antoon van Gemert
    13th June 2017, 10:11

    Max Verstappen is a winner and that’s what I like about him! Expectations where very high for the 2017 season, but Red Bull has one major ussue: reliability! Max is, without any doubt, the better and faster driver in the team! Since Spain he beat Ricciardo in all, but one, sessions. But the jinx is upon Max at the moment and that’s really frustrating, resulting in comments like this (“Het hele seizoen is al ruk”). Max is young and impatient, nothing wrong with that, especially when you know you can beat them all. Sadly his car is no winner at the moment, so Red Bull is in trouble holding on to Verstappen after the 2018 season. They must, at least, produce a winning car next year or he will be gone for sure. Mercedes and Ferrari drivers-choice for next year will surely be influenced by this, as Max is still the hottest property in F1 and there’s a big chance he’s available for the 2019 season.

    Last evening there was a Skype-interview with Max at his father’s home, on Dutch television. He was quite funny when the presenter asked him wether he saw the tv-images of his amazing start. Max responded: “Yes, I even sat in the car!”
    It was a nice interview in which Max made it clear he’s loyal to the contract, but was very disappointed about the progression made by Renault and is even worried about the next season.

    I like the honest comments of Max, because I would be very worried if he would only shrug his shoulders saying “That’s racing”, like so many other drivers!

  12. This interview was in Dutch. You can’t just translate it 1 on 1 most of the times.

    There is this thing going on between the Dutch reporters and Max. It includes some humor and direct to the point comments.

    About the VER RIC situation. I think Max is actually already better than RIC in all things but points. His qualy is better, his racing is better, his starts are better, his overtaking is better.

    What RIC does is hope that people break down and collect as many points as possible in that way. This is actually a good quality and will bring a lot of points to the team. Max however is always racing hard to get the best result possible. This can sometimes be risky but that’s what racing should be Imho.

    His frustration is mainly that his points don’t reflect his pace. After all is the 1st battle the one with your teammate. Then there is the lack of power and reliability. That also doesn’t help.

    1. Both driver and Interviewer are paid by Ziggo. So it’s a rather Biassed report with coloured questions.
      But you are right, the way they talk to each other has great effect on the commnets made.
      Maybe a PR dude can prevent some harm here.. Max is very open and his remarks show this.

      1. Let’s not make Max PR robots like the merc drivers are coached to be. Can’t listen to their standard drivel and evasion of (some interviewers) fub questions on the podiums anymore. Bottas and Hamilton are far better personalities without this PR nonsense over them. Leave Max alone is showing he is a human..(like we forum – armchair hunters).

  13. I think you’ll find that Dan Ric is just as frustrated and has shown signs of not really caring a whole heap either.

    Both Max and Dan expected RBR to deliver a competitive car this year and it was obvious from day 1 of testing that they had screwed up right royally. Combine that with the fact that the PU is not all that good and the “upgrade” that was promised isn’t going to eventuate and they both know that 2017 is already a write off.

    Neither are all that fussed about their intra team battle, they wanted to be competing for the WDC and have been let down, primarily by the team who didn’t really make a good fist of the new regulations.

    If that changes later in the year and they have a chance for wins, then we’ll see some real effort going in to qualy and racing. For now I don’t think there’s much point in comparing them.

    1. Might also give some perspective on how to rate Ric-Max battle. Probably don’t care too much anymore, not like they are going to be fighting for something. They will probably just try to capitalize on other teams failures, but it ain’t like they are competing for the wdc win. Think will somehow effect their competitiveness.

  14. I note recently now that Max seems to be able to compete more with Daniel that there doesn’t seem to be anywhere near the number of posts using his “limited” F1 racing experience as a line of defence every time he gets beaten by his teammate “Oh he’s so young, doesn’t have the years in F1 that Ricciardo does, just wait until he has a few more years experience into him and he’ll be the best driver since Senna”. So can we assume there will be no more excuses from Max fans when he gets beaten by his teammate about a lack of experience from now on?

    1. Antoon van Gemert
      13th June 2017, 13:03

      If Ricciardo beats him fair and square I have no problem with that. Remember Malaysia last year? One of the best fights of the year in which Ricciardo defended in a masterly way against the attack of Max. Side by side through some fast corners, great stuff and great racing from both!

      Without any doubt Max is the better and faster driver this year within Red Bull. The problem is that Max has not been beaten by his teammate, but by his own car letting him down, too often. He lost at least three good chances to get on the podium (Spain, Monaco and Canada), so in reality, if all things went well, he should have four podiums by now and zero for Ricciardo!

      I don’t blame Ricciardo profiting from the misery of Max right now, because Max would do the same if it was the other way around.

      For me, I have never used the excuse you mentioned, when Max was beaten by his teammate. In the contrary, I always said he’s the best driver that ever entered F1, period! Or do you know another driver that made his F1 debute at age 17?

    2. The Quali on the moment is 4-3 in favour of MAX.
      We all know RIC is a Quali monster who crushed VET to name one.

      Let them drive, comment and enjoy F1 again. RIC and VER are the best team so far.

      1. Evil Homer (@)
        14th June 2017, 14:03

        Agreed! If your driver has a bad weekend due to mechanical failure no need to go hate on his team-mate as he finished the race well. That seems to be a bit of a default response at the moment and is poor F1 following really.

        I am a Dan Ric fan so happy to see him grab some Champaign recently – but I am not silly enough to say he is smashing Max and can see Max has had a better start to the year. He is up on quali, its been REAL close, but he’s up! And Daniel is a good qualifier!

        But those who think he is already the best in the field need to take a step back and have a cup of tea or something.

        An obvious talent and potential to be a great (I actually don’t like the word potential – it reads more like ‘you are under-performing your talent). He is unpolished at the moment but you cant fake his drive, as Murray would say he has the “God driven right to win”, I just wish he would sack his PR manager- aka Dad.

  15. I would not be one bit surprised if Max’s frustration has very little to do with how he is doing vs DR as the bulk of the conversation above implies, and pretty much all to do with not having a win-capable car. He was extra frustrated in Canada because he did look to potentially podium, having already said on more than one occasion the best they (RBR) can generally hope for is 5th and 6th after the two Mercs and two Ferraris.

  16. This year Red Bull is not going to win any races unless there is a lot of luck involved.
    You have to drive for Mercedes or Ferrari to win in 2017 + Renault after 2018.
    Customer engines are not going to be faster, look at the last batch of Cosworth engines.
    Porsche’s TAG HEUER/McLaren engines were very good, but again only supplied to 1 team.

  17. Arad (@just-an-fan)
    13th June 2017, 21:17

    I hope Max sharpens up soon and drives maturely of gets faded as his dangerous and reckless driving style just harms.

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