December 25, 2024
Daniel Ricciardo ready to move on from Max Verstappen crash in Hungary
Verstappen said of the collision: “It is never my intention to hit anyone but especially not your team-mate”
DANIEL Ricciardo says he is prepared to move on from the crash in which Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen took him out of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The drivers collided at just the second corner of Sunday’s race, as Verstappen locked up and slid into Ricciardo.
Ricciardo said it was “amateur, to say the least”, adding: “The way Max handles it will dictate how it goes.”
But on Monday the Australian said: “The situation was handled and taken care of in the right way to move forward.”
Verstappen apologised to both Ricciardo and the team in his media interviews after the race, and said he would discuss it with his team-mate in private.
Ricciardo said on Twitter: “Yesterday was hard to take. You build up all day for those couple of hours of racing and then it’s gone like that.
“Max apologised to me after the race and we spoke one on one.”
During the race, Ricciardo was clearly furious about the collision, which happened as the drivers were disputing fourth place.
He swore over the radio about the incident, and described his 19-year-old team-mate as “a sore loser”.
In interviews afterwards, Ricciardo added: “He doesn’t like when a team-mate gets in front. It was a very poor mistake. Inexperience is too kind. That was just immaturity.”
He said his reaction to the incident would depend on whether Verstappen “acts like the age he is, or if he acts like a man and admits the mistake”.
The Dutchman told the media: “It is never my intention to hit anyone, especially not your team-mate and especially the relationship I have with Daniel.
“It is always very good and we can always have a laugh so this is not nice so I apologise to Daniel and to the team.” –bbc.com
