Having qualified seventh - behind a Haas - it was an uncharacteristically downbeat Daniel Ricciardo who faced the media in the aftermath.

Clearly feeling that he should have had some help from his teammate in terms of a tow, the Australian complained that Red Bull's strategy had not been fair.

Shortly afterwards however, Max Verstappen and team boss Christian Horner made clear that in terms of aiding teammates with a tow, there is system in place at Red Bull which sees the drivers take it in turns to help one another, and that as Ricciardo benefitted from the Dutch driver in France a week ago, this week it was the Australian's turn to help the youngster.

With three DRS zones and the Bulls making three runs in Q3, Ricciardo is understood to have been told by his engineer on his final run however, that he would get a tow from Verstappen. But when asked to pass the Australian the youngster refused insisting that it was "discipline" to stick with the pre-arranged rule whereby it was Ricciardo's turn to lead no matter how many runs or DRS zones.

"We have a very simple policy here that has operated for the last seven years," said the Briton, "and that is to alternate who drives out of the garage first from race to race.

"This is the only way to keep it scrupulously fair between both drivers," he continued. "This weekend it was Daniel's turn to drive out of the garage first.

"In the heat of qualifying he felt that on a track like this where a tow can sometimes help, he could be at a slight disadvantage going out first," he admitted. "Last weekend it was the reverse and he benefited.

"Now that both drivers have had time to review what happened they have a rather different view of things than they did in the heat of the moment.

"This is natural when you want to win and we would not want to take that away from them."

At the subsequent Red Bull media debrief Ricciardo was his usual smiley self. Seeing an unusually large gathering of journos - clearly sensing a possible falling-out between the two drivers - the Australian grinned and said: "I either won or I said something!"

Asked whether his earlier comments, reflected the fact that at the time he thought he had been "stitched up", he nodded and replied: "In the heat of it all, I thought so.

"I've had a few discussions since with Christian and with my engineer," he continued. "I probably should have just talked about it more beforehand.

"I had concerns and I spoke a little bit with my engineer about it, but I guess as a team it wasn't discussed. But in my mind, in the car, I'm just like, ‘It's obvious what's happening, isn't it? Give me a run where I'm getting a tow instead of giving everyone else a tow'. It was probably miscommunication."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by klmn, 01/07/2018 9:05

"Jeez what a pity everything is OK , we and the journos love F1 negative news.so much."

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2. Posted by f1khun, 01/07/2018 2:02

"@Thomas1.
Pretty deep analysis, and pretty good. Just, I do not see Newey go to Renault that quickly. Newey will have been consulted on the switch from Renault to Honda engines and if he'd have objected, then I am sure this would have leaked.
Then again, this is F1, anything could happen...

Once again, while i think that your analysis makes a lot of sense on all fronts; the assumption (that is what I call it) that Renault will surpass (or equal) Red Bull speed that they have in this 2018 season, that is too much for me. For 2020? maybe. But Honda isn't likely to stay behind for long, they have committed huge resources to their success with Red Bull, and Renault has committed to not overspend. (Yet).

Note: Newey may stay at RBR but James Key may not. Although, Key would welcome the challenge to race his STR team against the RBR mother team with similar engines and with an on-fire Gasly. His motive to go to Renault will have to come with an increase of budget at Renault, I guess. Which, as what we hear, isn't on the cards. "

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3. Posted by Thomas1, 01/07/2018 0:44

"Here are some thoughts on Riccardo, Red Bull and Renault F1 from a Renault Fan from 1991:
A winning F1 driver like Riccardo wants to continue to win until he wins F1 Driver title this year or next two years. One needs a winning engine, a good winnable chassis and a winning driver. McLaren was an option earlier but it is not there yet. Their chassis is not integrated with Renault engine. They last three years of exp. in tuning chassis for a works working engine in F1. This is the result when one makes a mistake like McLaren did with untested engine on itself for 3 years. We will witness in the next 2+ years a similar event for Red Bull.
Red Bull will take on a new engine and a completely new chassis for Honda engine integration to run as the current
ReBull(Renault Bull) team runs NOW. The chassis wizard, Sir Adrien will be busy for the next two years. I have a little pun on Red Bull Name. In the past, Red Bull was a REAL Bull, abandoning Renault Engine, it becomes a Reel Bull (for show and No Action)! Looking at McLaren troubles, one can say that "Renault engine lacks Power and hard to drive" and go back to Honda engine and make some money as a Works Team! Holy Bull, other teams are winning with the Renault engine! Their chassis must be very good for a "poor" engine! Some in McLaren may say this statement for their performance! Reel Bull 2019 will have a performance drop in both a new chassis and a new engine unless they are already using a Red Bull chassis for their Toro team with Honda engine! One can bet this is a cunning Bull! McLaren did not have this luxury option!
For Riccardio,there are two options. Stay with the ReelBull fo 2019 (what about 2020?) help Reel Bull-Honda
integration next year and leave the team to another winning team for 2020? Questions? Why not do it now?
F1 is the definition of self-interest. F1 is a synonym for self-interest! Riccardo will be a second driver in Reel Bull 2019 also. Winning a world champion in this crowded set of F1 winners will be especially difficult if your team is not 100% behind you. Remember intentional small errors will rob you of points! Reel Bull is not 100% behind Riccardo as one sees it! The top two teams are set. One should not disturb them. Renault F1 is the only option to win the title next year or be a disruptor of winners at the top level! 2020 may work out for good for F1 Driver title. I thought McLaren was an alternative. But they are not there. They need to get some help from Renault Chassis designers on loan this year to see why they are so slow? Just kidding here? Have they changed the Honda engine lately?
My Verdict: If Riccardo and Sir Adrian Newey join together with his Real Bull Engineer to Reanult team, next year F1 title will be good fight against all other teams! We have an ancient saying " One fires a "BrahmaAstra" against a great Warrior like Karnan in a war and not against an ordinary soldier or against a boar?" What this means is that a "Powerful missile needs a worthy target to fire at". Othewise the missile will cry! Great talent should not be wasted on a fallen team rebuilding! "After rebuilding is complete, call me!" as the saying goes!"

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Ricciardo thought strategy was a "stich up"

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