Horner: Daniel is dealing with Max very well

Max Verstappen began his career in the Red Bull team in tremendous fashion when he powered to a sensational victory at the Spanish Grand Prix, in his debut for the team, and since then (apart from the weekend in Monaco) he has not a put foot wrong.

His performances are such that questions are being asked about the other side of the Red Bull garage where Daniel Ricciardo plies his trade, the big smiling Australian frowns more often these days and right now seems to be losing the high ground within the team.

But team principal Christian Horner believes that there is more to come from Ricciardo who he says is coping well with the situation and that the two Red Bull drivers will help one another raise their game.

Christian Horner has backed Daniel Ricciardo to respond positively to Max Verstappen's recent form and believes the two men are getting the best from each other.

Horner told ESPN, "I think Daniel is a class driver and he has demonstrated already this year that he is at the top of his game. No teammate likes being the second of the cars to finish and I am sure he will respond positively. But it is a positive thing in the team. There is no animosity or anything. It is just two guys going for it and going flat-out. It is very healthy for us."

At the recent British Grand Prix, Verstappen was second after a memorable duel with Merceeds driver Nico Rosberg which hogged the air time on TV, while Ricciardo finished fourth.

Horne sees the positive side of Ricciardo's result at Silverstone, "I think Daniel is dealing with it very well. He got a little bit unlucky with the VSC period [at Silverstone]. That cost him probably about 10 seconds and allowed Perez to effectively get a free stop ahead of him. But that is just the run of the green. You can't anticipate when there is going to be a VSC.

"He then cleared Perez and was slowly catching on that group, but the damage was done to his race. He is going to have a couple of Sundays come up where I am sure everything will fall his way and it will be swings and roundabouts."

With regards to the dynamics and atmosphere in the team, since Verstappen's arrival, Horner revealed, "Obviously we have got two very strong drivers in the cars and they are pushing each other hard, which is great to see and there is a confidence in the team that you can see is growing."