It was fairly common in the past for an on-track incident to cause a rift within the Red Bull Racing camp. That seemingly won’t be a problem with its current driver pairing of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen, however.
The two Red Bull Formula One pilots are set to put their clash during the Hungarian Grand Prix behind them, according to Ricciardo. The Aussie took to Instagram on Monday to say that he, while upset by the incident, has accepted Verstappen’s apology and is ready to move on.
Verstappen clattered into the side of Ricciardo in Turn 1 on the first lap Sunday, compromising both of their races. With his RB13 leaking fluid after the crash, Ricciardo was forced to retire immediately, and Verstappen picked up a 10-second penalty.
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Although the 19-year-old is known for his aggressive, often contentious racecraft, Verstappen is an intelligent racer who understands the golden rule of F1: don’t hit your teammate. As a result, he accepted sole responsibility for the accident, and apologized to both Ricciardo and Red Bull.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner actually revealed on Instagram that his team’s drivers had made up before Ricciardo posted his message.
Horner clearly was relieved by the way Verstappen and Ricciardo handled the incident, as it means he doesn’t need to keep the peace within the team again.
During their time at Red Bull, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber famously came together multiple times on-track, though, unlike the team’s current duo, their relationship quickly soured because of the collisions.
Thumbnail photo via Red Bull Racing
