Ricciardo 'hopes' to remain friends with Verstappen even if rivalry begins

Daniel Ricciardo has insisted that he 'hopes' to remain friends with Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen even if the duo get embroiled in a rivalry for the Formula One driver's championship, claiming that the feud would be beneficial to both drivers and the team.

Ricciardo has five Grand Prix flags to his name while Verstappen has three, with the latter at just 20-years-old, and the duo are tipped to have the ability to topple the current dominance of Mercedes in the constructor's championship.

The Red Bull team-mates are believed to be good friends, and Ricciardo wants this to continue even if they become rivals for the driver's title.

"I hope so," Ricciardo responded when asked if the friendship could survive the rivalry. "Keep him on my birthday list!

"We said at the start of 2017 it would be a good problem to have. If we're both fighting at the front and having some battles.If it's ultimately deciding a world title we would happily run with that challenge," the Australian added.

"So, yeah, we'll see."

Verstappen has also weighed in on the dilemma, but he has the same views as his team-mate on the professionalism that is required between two colleagues who are also friends.

"For sure when you fight for the World Championship it will get a bit more tense, I think, on the track," admitted Verstappen.

"At the end of the day, you always come back to where you respect each other.

"You have to accept if one guy is faster than the other and I think that's what we can do. When somebody has a good race, we can really say to each other 'well done' and 'you really deserved that'. And I think that's also very important."

Ricciardo and Verstappen finished the 2017 campaign far behind Mercedes and Ferrari in the rankings, but the Australian thinks Red Bull can gain ground next season.

"I believe in 2018 we will close the gap," Ricciardo insisted.

"Is it enough to fight for a title? I think we can certainly get close but we'll see.

"I don't want to predict too early. I'm sure we've learned a lot and I believe we're going to put in the right work in the winter to start strong.

"And then that'll be exciting!"