Verstappen had lost Ricciardo for a moment: "Gave him more space than I thought"

Max Verstappen started on the mediums at Spa-Francorchamps on Sunday afternoon, while Daniel Ricciardo started on the softs one grid slot behind. In addition, the Renault driver drove with less downforce, which allowed him to slipstream well when the lights went out. It led to a battle for third place. Verstappen talks about it at the press conference.

"Yeah, we gave each other room," says Verstappen after the Belgian Grand Prix. The Dutchman even lost the 31-driver for a moment at the start. "Honestly, I didn’t see him after Turn 7 but he was on my inside, but, yeah, I could only see one Renault in my mirror but that was not Daniel, so I had no clue where he was," Verstappen continues. 

Verstappen wants to battle with Ricciardo more often

For that reason, the nine-time F1 Grand Prix winner was on the safe side."So I just gave him a bit more space than I think was necessary in Turn 8. But all good, it was nice. It’s always nice anyway racing him; he’s a good guy. It’s a lot of fun," says Verstappen about his battles with Ricciardo.

After the departure of the man from Perth at Red Bull, we have seen a few fights between the former teammates. Where the Austrian team is well in second place in the constructors' championship, Renault has to be content with sixth place. We may have a second fight between Verstappen and Ricciardo at Monza if Renault opts for little downforce ready for the long straights.