Red Bull: Ricciardo wants a real battle with Vettel
After dominating his teammate Sebastian Vettel twice in the last two races, Daniel Ricciardo believes that the two men can engage in a real battle and that their respect for each other will only grow, even if team orders should not be ignored... to a certain extent.
One of the duels at the start of this season is within Red Bull, where the reigning four-time World Champion, Sebastian Vettel, faces his new teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, who is also a product of the taurine-boosted program.
Disqualified in Australia when his teammate had to retire as early as the 4th lap, then victim of a problem during a pit stop in Malaysia when Vettel finished 3rd, Daniel Ricciardo has since experienced better fortune by securing two fourth positions in Bahrain and China, each time having the luxury of overtaking the number 1 driver on team orders.
For the Australian, despite this, the ideal would be to be able to engage in a real battle on the track: « We know it and we’ve even told each other that we really want to fight. I want to fight against the best version of Seb and he wants to fight against the best version of me. In the end, I think we will respect the one who did a better job, » he explained to the newspaper West Australian.
Ricciardo continued: « In the end, none of us likes to lose. If Seb does a better job this season, I won’t like it, but I will really respect him for it and give him the praise he deserves. I think it goes both ways. We understand what a fair fight is and we love it. »
A fair fight but one that should not take place in case of instructions; although for driver No. 3, these are not to be followed absolutely: « We study different scenarios and discuss them among drivers and between directors and engineers. It is our responsibility to obey, unless it is completely irrelevant and then, we can obviously try to fight and give our reasons. »
However, the knowledge of all the data by the pit wall seems difficult to challenge: « But the team does all the calculations on the pit wall during the race and you must respect what they say. It’s not always great if you have to step aside. It’s not good to be that slower car, it’s frustrating. »
A few days ago, Lewis Hamilton, who has won three victories in the last three races, either clearly dominating Nico Rosberg (Malaysia / China) or emerging victorious from an epic battle, had urged Sebastian Vettel to: “As a four-time world champion, Sebastian must now show his leadership. When a crisis comes, you can assert your strength as the team’s leader,” he told Bild.
Currently, Sebastian Vettel is 5th in the driver standings with 33 points, 9 more than Daniel Ricciardo who is 6th. Red Bull is in second position in the constructor standings with 57 points, 97 less than Mercedes.
