Ricciardo reveals 'awkward' run-in with Verstappen

Daniel Ricciardo has opened up about a strange encounter he had with teammate Max Verstappen after the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Aussie driver crashed out of the dramatic race in July when he collided with Verstappen on the opening lap.

Ricciardo was furious at the time, slamming Verstappen's “amateur” move and calling him a “f***ing sore loser”.

“It was a whole lot of adrenaline and anger ... and not through my fault,” Ricciardo told ESPN recently.

“The marshal was pulling me off the track saying, ‘Come on, you’ve got to get off the track’ and I was like, ‘Don’t touch me.’

“I purposely wanted to wait until Max came around so I could give him the bird.

“I wanted to do more. I wanted to throw my helmet at him but I’m a good sport, I don’t do those things!”

And according to Ricciardo, his teammate made things very awkward after the race.

“When Max gave me a beer after the Budapest race (was the most awkward part)," Ricciardo said.

“He was like, ‘Sorry’ and I was like, ‘Please don’t tell me he’s only going to give me a beer and think that’s going to make up for it.’ Then he said, ‘We’ll talk after the meeting.’

“But the initial thing of him giving me a beer is kind of awkward.”

Ricciardo took a backward step in Formula One this year, slipping from third in the drivers' championship with 56 fewer points thank 2016.

Speculation around his future flared when Red Bull appeared to prioritise younger teammate Verstappen by extending his contract this year.

Ricciardo said the decision won't be a distraction despite him planning to spend the better part of next year making it.

"I'm not just going to settle on something because I want it to be off my mind," he said.

"It's a big call, the most important one for me yet, I think. I'll take as much time as I need to.

"It's not going to be a distraction."

with AAP