Ricciardo: Max matured a lot on and off the track

Although Ricciardo beat Verstappen in the 2017 Formula 1 championship standings by 32 points, the Dutchman had a stellar final half dozen races and before the season was out had inked a deal to remain with Red Bull until the end of 2020.

Ricciardo, whose current deal with the energy drinks outfit runs until the end of 2018, has yet to put pen to paper and will wait until after pre-season testing to make his decision.

The Red Bull pair have a solid relationship off-track and their team believe them to be the best pairing on the grid, but there have been tense times between the pair with a first lap collision in Hungary springing to mind.

After the incident Ricciardo was livid but the pair got through it, he recalled in a recent interview, "The hot water in Budapest, that was a bit of a test. Fortunately, he handled it well afterwards and apologised and did what he had to."

"So I feel like there is that respect for each other. Max matured a lot on and off the track. On-track, he was more sensible. He was under a lot less scrutiny than he was last year. I feel like he also respects the competitors a bit more."

Verstappen is acknowledged as one of the toughest drivers of the current generation, but Ricciardo is no slouch himself and was regarded as the best overtaker of 2017 by our Grand Prix 247 readers.

If they went wheel-to-wheel again, the Aussie insisted, "We'd race it out. If things happened, we'd find a way to deal with it but I'd still say it's a good problem to have. If there is a bit of friction, I'd rather that than be fighting for sixth and have no friction."

Perhaps the most fractious relationship between teammates in recent years was the high-profile 'war' between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton during their spell together at Mercedes.

But Ricciardo does not believe his relationship with Verstappen will sink to those levels, "I don't think it would ever get to a point like Lewis and Nico. That was a pretty special situation. It would only get to that point if we lost respect for each other."

"The races he won [last season], I acknowledged it, said he was a better driver on the weekend or the day. And that was that."

"If I start saying it's because of this or the team gave him the better engine, then you'll create problems. If you're honest, acknowledge he did better and then find a way not to let it happen again!" added Ricciardo.