Ricciardo to blame for Verstappen Baku crash? Marko changes story

Matthew Scott
Sunday 5 May 2019 09:09

Dr Helmut Marko has seemingly performed a 180-degree change on his view of the all-Red bull crash between Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen at last year's Azerbaijan Grand Prix, having now pinned the blame on the Australian, having previously suggested his former team-mate was at fault.

A race-long quarrel between the Red Bulls ended in the ultimate calamity for both Ricciardo and Verstappen as they collided on Baku's main straight, wiping each other out of the race in an instant.

Looking back to the incident over the off-season, Marko said that Verstappen "could have avoided the accident" with Ricciardo, who went on to shun Red Bull to sign for Renault last year.

However, Marko has seemingly changed his tune, now suggesting that Ricciardo was chiefly at fault in his eyes.

Discussing Ricciardo's Renault move, Marko told Motorsport-Total.com: "At Ferrari and Mercedes, the doors were closed. And with us there had been some tension between the two drivers since Baku, although it was not shown on the outside.

The pivotal moment in Baku 💥

Ricciardo and Verstappen collide in dramatic fashion

Recording a second double-DNF for Red Bull in three races#AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿 #F1 pic.twitter.com/OMwH9Ct9BV

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 29, 2018

"Ricciardo said we had to step in before and felt he was innocent.

"However, he was the one who drove into Verstappen. If Verstappen wasn't there, he would have gone straight.

"Ricciardo was with us for 10 years, he was always cared for in a structure where he did not have to worry about anything. Somehow he wanted something different."