Pierre Gasly is driving Daniel Ricciardo's old car. The Frenchman is 118 points behind his teammate Max Verstappen in the Formula 1 world championship and Ricciardo is surprised by just how big the gap is.
“It’s a tough one with him now because it is… the reality is reality – he is a long way off Max. So on one side, they are happy with Max and the first pole for him [in Hungary]. But on the other hand, I think deep down they know that they could be scoring a lot more points," Ricciardo said about his old team, Red Bull.
“I don’t know what it is at the moment with Pierre because last year he got some big results with Toro Rosso, which was clearly not as good a car as the Red Bull. So a tough one. I know Max as a team-mate I know he is…and I didn’t expect Pierre to come out and beat him. I’m not surprised that Max is beating him, but I am surprised at the gap," Ricciardo continued to Motorsport-week.
Meanwhile, at Renault, Ricciardo has struggled to find any consistent form. The French team sits 6th in the F1 world championship, a significant amount of points behind midfield rivals McLaren. The Australian continues to claim he doesn't regret his move but admits he'd rather be where Verstappen is.
“It’s a big contrast of where I am and where he is, so I don’t want to say that’s hard to take, but I’d rather be where he is than where I am [on the grid in Hungary]. But equally, I still don’t regret anything 12 months down the track," Ricciardo added.