Verstappen vs Ricciardo: How their relationship fractured and Horner made them pay

Christian Horner has revealed how the rivalry between Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo threatened to tear Red Bull apart - and how he made both F1 stars pay the price.

The former Red Bull boss has lifted the lid on the breakdown of their once-close relationship, revealing how their escalating tension led to a furious showdown and an unexpected punishment which left Ricciardo looking sick.

The Aussie star had became the main man for F1’s ‘fun team’ when four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel departed for Ferrari after the 2014 season. But just over a season later he would be driving alongside the man who would eventually usurp him.

Verstappen was catapulted to F1 superstardom in May 2016 when he stepped up from Toro Rosso to replace Daniil Kvyat at Red Bull. He immediately announced himself by claiming a sensational victory at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

Verstappen's extraordinary speed quickly threatened Ricciardo's status as Red Bull's leading driver, transforming what began as a mentor-pupil relationship into an increasingly fierce rivalry.

Horner, writing in his new memoir ‘Drive’, explained how the relationship between his two drivers began to sour.

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Ricciardo knew Verstappen was taking over

“Across the garage, Daniel sensed his time was coming to an end at Red Bull. Despite winning both the Chinese and Monaco Grands Prix in 2018 and helping Red Bull to third place in the Constructors’ Championship, the noise surrounding Max was almost impossible to ignore.

“He was now the quicker of our two drivers (he finished fourth in the Drivers’ Championship; Daniel was sixth) but he also possessed the killer instinct I’d feared Daniel was lacking.

“As had been the case with Sebastian and Mark several years previously, Helmut made little secret of where his loyalties stood. In meetings, he only seemed interested in Max’s car, which was frustrating for Daniel. (Daniel even asked Helmut to alternate which side of the garage he stood during race weekends, rather than taking up residence on Max’s side. (Helmut indulged this for one season)."

How Verstappen and Ricciardo's relationship fractured

Horner felt that by the summer of 2018, things were coming to a head, and he was not the only key Red Bull figure pondering the future. The relationship between Verstappen and Ricciardo was starting to break down.

“We needed to be a team; to win World Championships, both drivers had to race to their optimum. But by the summer of 2018, I got the impression that Helmut wanted Daniel to leave at a time when Red Bull wanted to extend his contract.

“The relationship between our two drivers was ­ fracturing. Throughout 2016, Daniel had happily acted as a mentor to Max, but by 2018, those days were over, with the pupil outsmarting the teacher, and emphasizing his superiority.”

What ensued was what Horner now describes as a ‘slow-burning conflict’ which would lead inevitably to a significant flashpoint.

“The pair engaged in a slow-burning conflict, and the first shots had been fired in 2017 during the Hungarian Grand Prix, when Max tried to overtake Daniel. Their two cars made contact, forcing Daniel to retire; he was left raging. ‘Is that who I think it is?’ he yelled.

The Baku crash that pushed Horner over the edge

“Later, as their rivalry intensified, both drivers took greater risks to outdo one another and their feud exploded during the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, when Max and Daniel swapped positions a couple of times.

“At that point, I was happy to let them race, it was only the fourth Grand Prix of the season, but on lap 40 that decision backfired spectacularly when Daniel attempted another overtake.

"Max moved in and out of the racing line to defend his position, and Daniel looked to have misjudged his closing speed and slammed into Max’s rear, shoving both cars into the run- off area and out of the Grand Prix.”

Horner makes Verstappen and Ricciardo pay

Horner, unsurprisingly, was livid, and it was now time to make his bickering drivers pay. They had let their team down, and now there would be consequences.

“I was furious. During an angry debrief, I ordered them both to perform the infamous Milton Keynes walk of shame the following week, in much the same way that Mark and Sebastian had done during the height of their war.”

Horner decided to tack on one more penalty for what Verstappen and Ricciardo had done to each other in Baku. He claims it hit Ricciardo particularly hard.

The Christmas party punishment nobody expected

“When the autograph signings and selfies were over, I invited the factory for a group meeting where I apologized for what had happened in Azerbaijan.

“‘But don’t worry,’ I said. ‘Daniel and Max are picking up the Christmas party bar tab this year.’

“I hadn’t warned either driver in advance of this detail. Daniel, who was known for expensing bottles of water back to the company, looked sick.”

Ricciardo's Red Bull exit changes everything

This was the beginning of the end for Ricciardo at Red Bull - despite being offered a contract for 2019 and beyond, he decided instead to move to Renault. It’s easy to argue that his career never again reached the same heights.

He returned to Red Bull as a third driver in 2023 before making his racing comeback with sister team AlphaTauri later that season. He remained with the outfit following its rebrand as RB in 2024, before being dropped after the Singapore Grand Prix.

Ricciardo would finish his F1 career with eight grand prix victories, seven of them achieved with Red Bull.

But while Verstappen went on to become a four-time world champion, Ricciardo never again reached the heights he had enjoyed before their rivalry erupted.

And as Horner's revelations show, the battle for supremacy at Red Bull came at a cost - both on and off the track.

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Written by

Graham Shaw - Consultant Editor

Digital sports leader with 30 years of senior level experience running global brands. Built sportinglife.com to be a behemoth in the UK as well as being in charge of the Planet Sport network of sites including planetf1.com, football365.com, teamtalk.com and planetrugby.com. Then grew goal.com to be the world's biggest soccer website in 18 languages and 37 territories. Was GM of Portals for Perform Group (now DAZN) with overall responsibility for sportingnews.com, spox.de and voetbalzone.nl.

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