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David Croft expecting Verstappen to beat Ricciardo in the 2018 championship

David Croft expecting Verstappen to beat Ricciardo in the 2018 championship

09-08-2018 16:30
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David Croft is pretty certain that Max Verstappen will finish ahead of team-mate Daniel Ricciardo in the 2018 championship standings. Currently, the Dutchman trails Ricciardo by 13 points.

The Red Bull duo have just nine races until their partnership terminates. Ricciardo will move down the pit-lane to Renault next year. But focusing on this year, Sky Sports commentator Croft explains his thoughts.

"Ricciardo needs to improve in qualifying against his teammate, but we have seen him win twice this year with some fantastic performances," Croft says in his mid-season report.

"He has to take on a very tough teammate who has had more reliability problems. Ricciardo is 13 points ahead, but does he finish in the championship ahead of him? I don't think so."

Crofty went on to acknowledge how Verstappen has changed since his father, a former F1 driver himself, gave him more space. The first race in which Jos was away from the garage took place in Montreal when Verstappen finished on the podium for the first time in 2018.

"He needs calm and stability alongside the track to produce a few stormy results on the track. His father is less present. I do not know if there is a connection between them, but I think it is purely a coincidence that Max has improved his form since Jos has gone into the background," Croft added.

"Verstappen has found a way to stay calm without losing its driving style. He has totally changed his style but does not make the mistakes he made at the beginning of the season."