| Drivers: | Ricciardo v Verstappen |
|---|---|
| Team: | Red Bull |
| Races: | 21 |
| H2H Winner: | Verstappen (0/4/2) |
| Ricciardo | Verstappen | Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 170 | 249 | Verstappen |
| Race Result | 3 | 8 | Verstappen |
| Qualifying | 6 | 15 | Verstappen |
| Fastest Lap | 10 | 10 | draw |
| Laps in Top 10 | 945 | 1092 | Verstappen |
| Best Result | 1st (x2) | 1st (x2) | draw |
SEASON WRAP
The second half of the season saw a dramatic turnaround in the Red Bull H2H results. At mid-season Ricciardo was leading his younger teammate by 4 to 1. By season end the Australian had failed to beat Verstappen in a single head to head factor.
It is fair to say Ricciardo suffered his fair share of bad luck, particularly in the second half of the season. But the qualifying result of 15-6 makes it clear that Ricciardo had his hands full trying to keep the always aggressive and undeniably fast Verstappen at bay. Having said that the Honey Badger actually improved on his quali from last year besting Max 35% of the time in 2017 compared to 40% in 2018.
Ricciardo will be hoping that the Renault power unit serves him better in 2019 as he moves across to the works team. It will be fascinating to see how he fairs against th highly rated Nico Hulkenberg who has yet to measure himself directly against a true Championship contender.
2019 will see Red Bull adopt the Honda power unit as Verstappen is joined by Torro Rosso driver Pierre Gasly. The young Frenchman demonstrated his impressive talent this year (with a 6:0 sweep of his teammate) but will he have what it takes to do what Daniel Ricciardo could not and outperform Verstappen in 2019?