Max Verstappen is now a faster driver than ex-teammate Daniel Ricciardo in both qualifying and the race, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko claims.
The pair enjoyed a highly competitive partnership during their near three-year stint together, however, last year the final standings were very much in the Dutchman's favour, finishing 79 points clear of the Australian.
Much of that was the result of Ricciardo retiring on eight occasions but Marko says even when both drivers were running, Max was justifying his advantage,
“There is specific data,” he told Autosport. “In qualifying the gap to Ricciardo is greater and in the race, he’s also a bit faster.
“The strange thing is Max sometimes slides more, but still manages to keep the tyres alive, that has developed. When he came to us, it wasn’t like that yet."
Some will be sceptical of the claim, based on Daniel's performances at the start of 2018 particularly, but Marko suggested he had been Verstappen for some time.
“In the second year [2017], Ricciardo dropped back a bit but he recognised that and then he worked intensively with his physio and other things on himself, so he came close to Verstappen again.
“But in the second half of the 2018 season, Verstappen has clearly moved away.”
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It is true that, after Ricciardo took the pole and win in Monaco, the only time he beat Verstappen again on a Saturday was his second pole in Mexico and on a Sunday, Max scored 10 podiums compared to his teammate's none.
“The basic problem was a certain lack of control and impatience,” Marko said of the 21-year-old's early-season incidents.
“The point is Verstappen is fast enough. He doesn’t have to constantly prove that he’s the fastest. He also already has an image when battling on track that it’s better not to mess with him.”
