Daniel Ricciardo has come to the defence of Sebastian Vettel after another mistake and spin in Austin, Texas left the German with another recovery drive in a race he might well have won but for the error.
On the opening lap of the United States Grand Prix, Vettel looked to pass Ricciardo after starting from fifth due to a grid penalty but made slight contact with the Red Bull, sending his Ferrari into a spin and down to the back of the pack.
Speaking to Autosport, Ricciardo defended his former Red Bull teammate and said it was his mentality rather than driving that was the cause of the mistakes, saying that Vettel was "slightly hesitant".
“That could maybe create that little bit of misjudgement, even kind of subconsciously if you don’t even know it," he added.
“If you’re playing catch: you drop 10 in a row, probably by the 11th one you’re like ‘alright don’t drop it, don’t drop it’. So it could be a similar thing.
“To be honest I looked at Seb’s onboard and I didn’t actually see anything, I didn’t think he went in hot, I didn’t think he looked erratic.
“So, in a way I’ll defend him – in terms of I didn’t see anything out of character.
“For sure it’s happened a few times now but that one for me didn’t look out of character.
“It could be that (subconscious worry), as an explanation, but I don’t want to tell him how to drive.”
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