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F1 Malaysian GP: Ricciardo: I’ve learnt from Vettel and Verstappen

Daniel Ricciardo says he's picked up things from both Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen when each has been his team-mate at Red Bull and feels the more partners he can have at a team it will make him a better driver.

When Ricciardo stepped up to Red Bull as his fellow countryman Mark Webber retired from F1 he made an immediate impression against his four-time world champion team-mate Vettel to eventually outscore him in his first year at the squad.

Since then Ricciardo has seen Daniil Kvyat take up the other side of the Red Bull garage before being replaced by Max Verstappen, with the pair being acutely compared when the Dutch teenager outscored his team-mate upon arrival.

After a tricky middle stint of the year Ricciardo and Red Bull have found some impressive form with four podiums in the past five races including three second place finishes.

Reflecting on the first 11 races Ricciardo has been paired with Verstappen the Australian says he can see similarities between the 18-year-old and Vettel and has been a keen observer of both.

"I think with Max and Seb as my team-mates it was at two different points in each of their careers. Equally you can still learn from each of them," Ricciardo said. "With Seb it was his interaction with the team and that was interesting to see and cool. While Max is coming in with a lot of youth, fire and energy plus some new driving techniques which they younger kids are doing.

"So it is interesting to learn from both of them. I like having as many different team-mates as possible because the more people you can learn off of the better it will make you as a driver.

"I will just keep doing my thing and if I can get the upper hand on him it can be a bit like it was with Seb, they are very highly regarded and highly hyped drivers, so if I can do the job against them it will only help me out."

With six races to go Ricciardo has built up a useful points cushion for third in the F1 drivers' championship in the battle of the 'best of the rest' behind the dominant Mercedes pair. Ricciardo holds a 26 point lead on Vettel with Raikkonen 31 points off the Australian.

Zdroj: crash.net