Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel is under more pressure than newcomer Daniel Ricciardo this season according to David Coulthard.
The former-driver reckons Ricciardo, who begins his first season with Red Bull after being promoted from sister-team Toro Rosso, is somewhat in a win-win situation no matter how he does against Vettel.
However if Vettel fails to keep Ricciardo behind, it could potentially damage his championship winning legacy so far.
“It’s better to be up against the best guy statistically over the past four years than to be in the mid-grid beating your team-mate, because ultimately this is about trying to win grands prix,” Coulthard told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“The expectation will be that Sebastian, as a four-time world champion, will be the team leader, so it’s all there for Daniel to play for. If he matches him, people will say ‘well, he’s really got some pace’; if he beats him, then people are going to really sit up and take notice. So I think the pressure is off Daniel in many respects.”
The Scot also warned Ricciardo that he must play the part of a ‘top-team’ driver if he’s to challenge Vettel’s supremacy.
“He’s an approachable, smiley character, and if he hasn’t done so already, I think he’ll really connect with the Australian people,” added Coulthard. “But everyone has to remember that he’s there to do a job. If he’s outside signing thousands of autographs and Vettel’s hidden away in the back of his engineering debrief looking at ways to make the car go faster, you can see which one is going to have the better opportunity.”
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