Niki Lauda jokes both Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo had to pay $1 Million for the 2018 Azerbaijan GP crash if they were a part of Mercedes

Janmeyjay Shukla | 20/09/2022
Niki Lauda jokes that both Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo had to pay $1 Million for the 2018 Azerbaijan GP crash if they were a part of Mercedes

Former Mercedes mentor and world champion Late Niki Lauda jokes to let both the Red Bull drivers pay for their Azerbaijan GP crash

Niki Lauda was one of the most iconic personalities in the F1 world. There was a certain incident between Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo that got the former world champion talking.

Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen had one of the most amazing 40-laps battles at the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. However, it came to an abrupt end.

Going into the 40th lap of the race on the fast Turn 1, Ricciardo crashed into the rear of Verstappen’s Red Bull. This led to a double retirement for the British team.

‘Max Verstappen is the one who was at 70 percent fault’ – Niki Lauda

The legendary Niki Lauda went back in time to watch his own fierce battle with James Hunt with the way both Red Bull drivers performed.

Moreover, he was part of an iconic team with two drivers challenging for the championship every year. The battle between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

What happened in Baku was shocking and Lauda had a pretty witty yet sensible answer when discussing the incident. According to him, the Dutchman was the one who should take the blame.

Also Read: Valtteri Bottas holds the record for the highest speed recorded at a Grand Prix with 231.4 MPH

Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo to pay for the Baku crash?

Niki Lauda part of the Mercedes outfit had his own opinion about it. As per him, both drivers would run into serious financial problems due to their crashes.

He explains: “I would bring them in the office together with Toto. Later, will tell them how much less they will get paid because of the damage they have done.”

The Austrian driver recalls the infamous Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg crash of the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix. He called it a ‘disaster’ something the Red Bull drivers repeated two years later in Baku.

Also Read: “It’s been tough!”: 31 GP Winner Max Verstappen jokes about having ‘too many sponsors’

Post Edited By: Samriddhi Jaiswal
Daniel Ricciardo Max Verstappen Niki Lauda

About the author

Janmeyjay Shukla

Janmeyjay Shukla is an artist who contributes his expressions through words as an F1 writer and editor at The SportsRush. He is an F1 historian who has been watching the sport since he was a baby. Passed on from generation to generation, he has seen the prime of Michael Schumacher to the rise of Max Verstappen. A Mercedes fan from the days of the Brawn GP era, the sport runs in his blood. Besides Formula One, Janmeyjay is a Marketing Head and a musician who loves to sing and play Rock & Pop songs on guitar. His love for sports will never die as he is a loyal Liverpool Football Club fan as well!

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