Daniel Ricciardo accused Max Verstappen of trying to “treason” by overshadowing his ally .
Max Verstappen has been a vocal critic of the Las Vegas Grand Prix and Daniel Ricciardo has given his verdict on his comments.
Daniel Ricciardo accused Max Verstappen of “trying to rebel” in a damning verdict at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The three-time world champion has not held back on his opinions on racing, winning for the 18th time this season.
The controversy occurred during Friday’s first practice session in Las Vegas, but it lasted just eight minutes.
A manhole cover on Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari came off, damaging the car.
It wasn’t a good start for the authorities to the inaugural race at the street track.
Verstappen was one of the most vocal critics, comparing Monaco’s track to the Champions League and Vegas to the National League.
The Red Bull driver also said it lacked the emotion of a classic Grand Prix.
But Ricciardo believes the likes of Verstappen were over-exaggerating their views and secretly were loving it.
The Aussie told a Q&A in the Qatar Airways Paddock Club suite at the weekend: “A few drivers have been a little bit ‘whatever’ about it.
I think they’re just trying to rebel.
Deep down they really like it, they just don’t want to admit it.
” When asked which driver he was alluding to, Ricciardo sarcastically replied “[He has] a really long first name,” in reference to Verstappen.
Verstappen started the race second on the grid but again came out on top to extend his unassailable lead in the driver standings.
He sang “Viva Las Vegas” as he crossed the finishing line, hinting that Ricciardo may have been correct with his accusation.
Verstappen’s public verdict before the race was different though.
He claimed more time should be invested into the sport rather than the “show”.
He said: “I feel like a show element is important, but I like emotion.
When I was a little kid, it was all about the emotion of the sport that I fell in love with and not the show.
As a real racer, the show shouldn’t matter.
Of course I understand fans need something to do around the track, but it is more important we make them understand what we do about the sport.
“As a young child, I grew up wanting to be a world champion.
You need to invest more time into the actual sport and what you want to achieve.
The sports world is obsessed with what teams have been doing throughout the season.
, you need to explain what you’re working on.
This is much more important than doing random shows like this everywhere.
I’m not interested.
I like passion and emotion.
I love Las Vegas, but I don’t drive an F1 car.
When I go out, I wear everything red.
But compared to the old school tracks, there’s no emotion or passion there.
