Having forsaken the shoey, despite having fellow Aussie Mark Webber on the podium, Daniel Ricciardo subsequently let the silliness we have all come to love him for take over during the official press conference.

Asked if the reason for Verstappen's continuing issues with his car this season might be because he is harder on his car, Ricciardo went into full Swiss Toni mode.

"Yeah, certainly," he grinned, "I do a lot of things with my driving style which is very nice to the car. I actually talk to it a lot during the race. I massage it.

"I wouldn't call it foreplay," he continued, "but it's something like that and Max is young, he's aggressive, he goes straight in!

"I know you're shaking your head," he said amidst the laughter, "but I feel like you knew the answer would be something silly like that. In all seriousness, I don't have an answer for it. I've honestly... I have asked before. I've even asked all the guys in the team, the mechanical and also from the power unit side and I've said is there something you see Max is doing which I should maybe avoid and they said no, there's nothing he's doing. He's not over-revving it or anything silly.

"It's unfortunate. I commented on the podium that... I think it was Austria as well he had a big big following there and all the fans still stayed, the whole weekend. Obviously they all want him to do well but I think they're racing enthusiasts so really nice that they stay around for the rest of the race and support us all. Yeah, I know he gets bigger cheers from them but I still feel like they are a good crowd, there's no aggression, it's all love..."

And for those of you who have never heard of Swiss Toni... you'll need to Google it.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Stitch431, 30/08/2017 9:41

"Although the results seem to tell otherwise, Ricciardo has been outpaced by young Max just about the entire season. Even in his specialty - qualifying he has been beaten by Max 8 times! If it had not been for the incredible amount of motoric failures and a crash caused by Bottas, he would not have had the amount of podium finishes and pints he now has, because Max was ahead of him just about every race (bar one), before he had to retire. And no, this has nothing to do with Verstappens driving style. It is just the amount of bad luck Verstappen has during the race, whereas Ricciardo has been lucky enough that his motor blew several times in practice instead. Renault is to blame. They deliver crap! Therfore all that is left for the Aussie is to make jokes about it. "

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2. Posted by VC10-1103, 29/08/2017 8:15

"I agree with Chris, we need more drivers like Ricciardo. I too remember when drivers spoke their minds and not corporate speak, it was a whole lot more interesting. Sometimes drivers, Prost, got the sack for it. "

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3. Posted by Editor, 28/08/2017 16:50 (moderated by an Adminstrator, 28/08/2017 18:20)

"@ gilgen

Personally, I feel Ricciardo is a breath of fresh air… a genuine character on a grid mostly filled with drivers towing the team/brand/sponsor PR line or those forever thanking "all the wonderful fans out there".

Your "real world" seems a soulless, humourless place."

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4. Posted by gilgen, 28/08/2017 14:41

"ricciardo is a bit of a wally. does he think that by being crude that more people will like him?
he likes to make fun of verstappen purely because he is being trounced by a teenager. he needs to start living in the real world !"

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"Swiss Toni" Ricciardo blames Verstappen's technique

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