Verstappen 70% to blame for crash, says Niki Lauda

The Verstappen-Ricciardo crash has dominated the headlines after the Azerbaijan GP, as Red Bull were left frustrated with what had transpired on the race track.

While the Red Bull duo had been going wheel-to-wheel all through the grand prix, they had been clean until Ricciardo crashed into the rear of Verstappen’s car.

During the post-race media session, Toto Wolff was asked what he would have done had he been in charge of Red Bull to which Lauda replied, “Go home and cry”.

“For me it’s 70 percent Verstappen and 30 percent Ricciardo [to blame]. If you [Verstappen] move on him all the time where [does] the poor guy have to go? It’s a very simple thing.” Lauda added.

Mercedes have been in such a situation earlier, especially during that 2016 season, where there multiple incidents of Rosberg and Hamilton going wheel-to-wheel during a race.

Lauda had a piece of advise for Red Bull, as to how they could deal with such a situation.

“[If they were Mercedes drivers] I would bring them into the office, together with Toto, and tell them how much less they will get paid for the damage they have done,” he said.

“We thought about this once, but we didn’t have to do it.” he added.

Wolff was quick to jump in on the debate, trying to explain how difficult it is to maintain a balance between driving hard and acknowledging the hard work that the backroom staff puts in.

“I’ve been there twice, in Spa [2014] and Barcelona [2016],” he said

“You have to remind the guys that beyond all the racing they are here for, there is a large structure in the background that is working 24/7 to provide them with the best possible cars.

“But equally you don’t want the lion’s spirit to be taken away from the driver.

“I’ve said it before: you can’t expect to have guard dogs in the car to behave like puppies. There is an upside and a downside to having to fast drivers in the car that race each other hard.”