Ricciardo respect will prevent Merc tension - Verstappen

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Red Bull will not have to deal with the same tension as Mercedes between its drivers if it is fighting for the championship in future, according to Max Verstappen.

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have had a fractious relationship as team-mates since Mercedes became the dominant force in F1, with a number of collisions occurring this season including in Spain and Austria. Verstappen was promoted alongside Daniel Ricciardo this season and he understands the stakes are higher at Mercedes but told F1i the two Red Bull drivers will deal with such a situation better in future.

“Of course when you are fighting for a world championship and it’s between two drivers who want to be world champion then it’s always a bit more tense but it’s up to the management and the drivers themselves to respect each other," Verstappen said.

"I think that will be different between me and Daniel because we respect each other. It doesn’t mean you say when you are behind you can go by, no, you still fight hard against each other but fair."

With Red Bull currently second in the constructors' championship, Verstappen sees himself staying with the team for a number of years following his promotion as payback for the faith it has put in him.

“I’m very happy where I am right now and of course they gave me the possibility to start in Formula 1 so it’s kind of loyalty as well. Now I’m at Red Bull I’m very happy here for a few years. Hopefully next year we can fight for more victories, we’ll see. It’s still to early to say that but that’s definitely our target.”

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.