SILVERSTONE, Great Britain -- Daniel Ricciardo says the atmosphere at Red Bull has changed since Max Verstappen joined midway through this season.
On Saturday at the British Grand Prix, Verstappen outqualified Ricciardo for the first time since they became teammates ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this year. The 18-year-old replaced Daniil Kvyat and Ricciardo said there had been a noticeable change in the team dynamic ever since.
"It has been a bit different, like around the team," he said. "To be honest, when they made the driver swap already there was a lot of noise created around Barcelona, and then he went on and won it, so that was all a bit chaotic. Then Monaco and what happened to me and this and that.
"It has been pretty hectic since Max joined. There has been a lot more going on in F1, within the team. So it has created a bit more of an atmosphere I'd say. But with myself, he is pushing, he is doing really well, and I obviously want to keep on top of it.
"I am sure it is bringing out a bit more in both of us. He has just hit puberty, so I don't know what that means -- if he is going to keep getting better, or if the degradation will start. But we will see. It depends on if he lets it grow out or if he clips!"
After his first qualifying defeat of the season, Ricciardo is looking to immediately gain the upper hand again in Sunday's race.
"From the start Max was obviously quick. In general he had good speed. The last couple of races he has had a bit better race pace through various stints, so its roles reversed now. He is quicker today, so hopefully I am quicker tomorrow. I think I can be.
"I think the long runs yesterday looked pretty good. I was pretty happy with what we were doing there, and we are making progress with that. So tomorrow expect a fight."
He explained that he had lost the majority of his 0.305s deficit to Verstappen in the slow corners.
"Most of it was in the last chicane. I would say generally he was a little bit quicker there. The first run in Q3 I lost out a bit there, so I lost more than I should have through there, but it was mainly the low speed, and the last chicane was the biggest one.
"High speed we were looking pretty good. The high speed corners are fun here. The low speed ones are a bit of a pain in the arse."