Ricciardo: “I offered Verstappen half a tenth”

The Red Bulls showed promising performances by monopolizing the second row of the grid at the Malaysian GP behind the Mercedes de Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari by Kimi Raikkonen. The stable of Milton Keynes can be confident for the race after showing good pace over the long stints in practice and in variable conditions while the weather remains uncertain for the race.

Daniel Ricciardo lost half a tenth behind his teammate Max Verstappen which is celebrating its 20th anniversary today. The Australian took this opportunity to respond to remarks from the Dutchman who indicated earlier in the week that he was three to four tenths per lap faster than his teammate.

“I gave Verstappen half a tenth for his birthday. I wanted to do better, but it's still half a tenth and third place would have been better than fourth. It’s a strategy, it’s from this position that I won last year! », he joked.

“The half-second gap to Lewis isn’t too bad. I got the full potential out of my car and the day is not bad. We can expect various strategies for the race. A stop remains possible but the rubbers tend to heat up., said Daniel Ricciardo.

Max Verstappen hopes for his part to finally make it happen after a disappointing first part of the season where he accumulated retirements. The Dutchman is 94 points behind Daniel Ricciardo with six races remaining in the season.

“It’s a good thing to get such a good position on the grid. I'm happy to celebrate my birthday here, added Max Verstappen. All I want is not to be sandwiched at the start (like was the case at the Singapore GP). So far this season I have often had good Saturdays and bad Sundays. I just have to hope to have a problem-free race. »