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Check out Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen's head-to-head history
Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo have fought out a series of close battles since becoming Red Bull Racing team-mates in 2016. Here are some of our favourite tussles.
Ricciardo and Verstappen are at very different ages and stages of their F1 careers – the Dutchman was still only 20 at the time of writing – but their partnership has been successful, combative and always interesting since they became stablemates.
Ricciardo versus Verstappen in Baku, Azerbaijan
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Which driver holds the upper hand over the other, though? Check out the team-mate head-to-head statistics below and then relive some of their memorable races.
Head-to-head
Ricciardo
Verstappen
Wins
3
3
Poles
1
0
Podiums
18
12
Fastest laps
7
2
Qualifying H2H
20
22
Points
467
392
Races started
42
42
Races finished
34
31
Mechanical DNFs
6
4
Championship H2H
3
0
Learn more about the Dutch driver by listening to the Becoming Max Verstappen episode of the Beyond the Ordinary podcast.
Spain 2016
Verstappen won his first race for Red Bull Racing in Spain
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Verstappen could hardly have made a more impressive start for Red Bull Racing, capitalising on the Mercedes mayhem ahead of him to win on his team debut after his time at Toro Rosso. Ricciardo, committed to a three-stop race while his team-mate pitted just twice, battled former team driver Sebastian Vettel for third place before a puncture on the penultimate lap forced a late fourth stop. He finished fourth, 43 seconds behind his new team-mate.
Malaysia 2016
Ricciardo fends off his team-mate during a tense battle at Sepang in 2016
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
When Lewis Hamilton retired from the lead with an engine failure with 15 laps left, and a virtual safety car was called, Ricciardo and Verstappen pitted for soft tyres and set off on a head-to-head run to the flag for the win. Ricciardo eventually prevailed after they ran wheel-to-wheel through multiple corners before Verstappen was forced to concede.
"It was hard racing and we're both determined to win and we want to beat each other, but we did it today very fair and with a lot of respect," Ricciardo said. "I thank him for that, and I think it goes both ways."
Verstappen finished second in the pair's only 1–2 result to date.
China 2017
Verstappen is pipped to the finish by Ricciardo in Shanghai
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Verstappen capped a remarkable charge from 16th on the grid to the final place on the podium, just edging out Ricciardo by eight-tenths of a second after the Australian tried a last-lap lunge at the hairpin. The young Dutchman made his moves early, passing nine cars on the opening lap on intermediate tyres, as the race started on a drying track. Team boss Christian Horner lauded Verstappen's "sixth sense" in the wet.
Monaco 2017
Daniel Ricciardo chases Max Verstappen at Monaco in 2017
© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Ricciardo and Verstappen might live in Monaco, but both have experienced mixed fortunes on the track there. In 2016, a clanger of a pitstop ruined Ricciardo's chances of a sure-fire victory, when the Red Bull Racing team failed to have any tyres ready. But in 2017, he managed a podium – his third at the Monaco GP – despite being pipped for fourth place by Verstappen in qualifying.
The Australian enjoyed a magical five-lap stint, leapfrogging Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas, before pushing Kimi Räikkönen close for second. Verstappen, who crashed out of the race in his and Ricciardo's first Monaco GP as team-mates in 2016, ended the race in fifth after a series of stops.
Hungary 2017
Verstappen and Ricciardo clashed at the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2017
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
The first in-race flashpoint between Ricciardo and Verstappen. The Australian nabbed his team-mate at Turn 1, after Verstappen failed to pass Valtteri Bottas's Mercedes. The Dutchman immediately attacked Ricciardo at the next corner, but he locked up and speared into the left-hand side of the Australian's car. Ricciardo was out on the spot, and Verstappen was given a 10-second penalty for a collision that Ricciardo called "amateur." A crestfallen Verstappen, who went on to finish fifth, apologised to Ricciardo afterwards.
Azerbaijan 2018
Verstappen and Ricciardo before their crash in Baku
© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
The battle here started in qualifying, with Ricciardo nicking fourth off Verstappen on his final lap by just 0.083secs after stealing an aerodynamic tow down Baku's endless 2.1km straight, as Kimi Räikkönen completed his ruined lap. But the two ramped things up a notch on race day.
With Sebastian Vettel on course for victory, Verstappen and Ricciardo came together in a dramatic shunt on lap 41, which had a massive impact on the final result. After the safety car restart, and with debris on the track, Hamilton took full points, with Räikkönen second and Vettell fourth.
After winning the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Ricciardo was hoping for more of the same. But the team-mates' intense Baku battle put paid to that.
The two drivers first made contact on lap 12, when the Australian tried unsuccessfully to pass on the outside. He eventually succeeded on lap 35, before the Dutchman took advantage of Ricciardo's tyre change to set up a fierce few laps. Ricciardo was eventually on Verstappen's tail and, on the start-finish straight on lap 41, the two collided. Both drivers ended up with zero points and much finger-wagging from the stewards.
Spain 2018
Max Verstappen leads Daniel Ricciardo at the 2018 Spanish Grand Prix
© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Verstappen and Ricciardo celebrated their two-year anniversary as team-mates by starting the 2018 Spanish Grand Prix in fifth and sixth places on the grid respectively. But when Esteban Ocon's Force India parked up on lap 41, a virtual safety car was called for, changing the race. Leader Sebastian Vettel pit-stopped, while the rest of the field tried to eke extra life out of their tyres. The German slotted back in between the Red Bull Racing drivers and his gamble failed.
The restart also caused Ricciardo problems. He went into a spin, as he struggled to warm up his tyres, putting himself out of contention of a podium finish. He did, however, record a new lap record of 1m 18.441s. Verstappen, meanwhile, lost a chunk of his front wing, but still managed to steer himself to a terrific third place finish, ahead of Vettel.
