Daniel Ricciardo has spoken up for Max Verstappen. The Australian thinks it is understandable that the Red Bull Racing driver fought Lewis Hamilton during the Italian Grand Prix. Ricciardo also thinks there is still a bit of frustration in his former teammate.
After the two drivers crashed at the Monza circuit, Verstappen immediately walked away without walking up to Hamilton to ask if he had suffered any injuries. Ricciardo does understand where that is coming from, stating in the podcast Pardon My Take.
"I know Max, we were teammates for a few years. That's him, he is a competitor he'll leave it on the track and that's it. I guess he still maybe was carrying a bit of anger or a little bit of frustration from Silverstone. Maybe that's why he just said 'stuff this' and walked away," said the eight-time Grand Prix winner. "I saw him go over his head but then stopped a bit more forward. I think there were things where Lewis was trying to reverse and get out, look I've probably already got too involved but maybe Max saw that and thought, 'okay Lewis is fine,' but I don't know."
What if Hamilton did have injuries?
According to Ricciardo, Verstappen would not have hesitated for a moment the moment Hamilton did get injured. "If we go through an accident and we know the other driver was injured, I'm one hundred percent sure we would all try to help, we wouldn't just turn our backs" Ricciardo said, finally facing the fact that Verstappen received a three-place grid penalty for his action. "I don't think what Max did was stupid, he saw an opportunity and went for it, but it was obviously not the best [manoeuvre]".