Ricciardo: “Verstappen will be competitive straight away”

He appeared in the Barcelona paddock smiling and relaxed Daniel Ricciardo, despite himself, found himself having to dedicate the Thursday race to questions about Kvyat's relegation to Toro Rosso and Verstappen's promotion to Red Bull.

“Boss Horner gave me the news via telephone the evening before it was made public, but since it didn't concern me personally he didn't go into details. In any case, it is not the negative outcome of a race that has compromised Daniil's position” – declared the driver from Perth.

“Having said that, I admit that I didn't expect it, especially not so soon, but these are things that can happen. Particularly in our team it's a bit of a rule if you don't prove that you're competitive. A demanding approach that I approve because it aims to encourage the pilots” – she continued.

“However, regarding what happened in Sochi on the first lap, I was happy to have heard the apologies of my former garage partner. Already in the post-race briefing he seemed aware of having caused damage to himself and the team. It's not smart to make similar maneuvers at the ready when you have many other laps available to battle with!" – the jab at the Russian.

“Max's arrival will be a good challenge for me to face – finally stated the 26 year old – He is inexperienced, but he is young and quite fast. We will push each other. He will certainly want to show off and I believe he will have no difficulty in becoming familiar with the RB12."

Chiara Rainis