'Red Bull should demote Verstappen to Toro Rosso' over Ricciardo crash

Red Bull should demote Max Verstappen to Toro Rosso after his Azerbaijan Grand Prix crash with Daniel Ricciardo, according to ex-Formula 1 driver John Watson. Red Bull have previous of similar actions, having relegated Daniil Kvyat to make way for Verstappen in 2016.

Kvyat's error-strewn start to the 2016 season, which included a costly crash with Sebastian Vettel in Russia, on the surface appears similar to Verstappen's in 2018, with the Dutchman enduring a difficult time in all four races so far this season.

Verstappen has combined sixth and fifth-place finishes with a pair of DNFs, although errors have cost him - and others - each time, as he has collided with Lewis Hamilton, Vettel as well as Ricciardo in Baku.

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The Dutchman is only six points ahead of Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly in the drivers' standings, with the Frenchman enjoying a better result in Bahrain - fourth place - than Verstappen has this year and five-time grand-prix winner Watson says Red bull should take action against their star man.

Watson told the Daily Mail: "Red Bull have created a monster.

"After signing him up on a multi-million bucks deal, he thinks he is undisputed number one. Actually, the way he races is as if he's still in F3.

"If I ran the team, I'd swap him with Pierre Gasly, put him back in Toro Rosso [Red Bull's junior team for whom Gasly drives], to learn how to be a grand prix driver.

"Until he realises that driving as recklessly as he does serves nobody, he is just going to be a dangerous hot-rod.

"To think smart, not fast, is beyond him. Over four weekends so far he has screwed up each time. They've created a monster and it is difficult to control it now."