“In the Past, There Were Two Teammates…”: Daniel Ricciardo Gets Candid on F1 Mind Games Narrating the Woeful Tale of a Noted Champion

The psychological games in Formula 1 play a huge part in affecting a result. Of course, what a driver and a team do on track matters, but these little mind games can hinder the mentality of a driver before or even after a race. And Daniel Ricciardo gave an example of a driver who went through these mental games.

There have been plenty of cases where teammates battle each other. While the Australian did not reveal the name, he went into detail about the mind games played by one particular driver.

Daniel Ricciardo opens up about the psychological games in F1

Speaking on the Arm Chair podcast, Ricciardo said, “I’ll just say a driver’ because I don’t want to say the name and I’m wrong. But in the past, there were two teammates who were fighting for the championship and one of them would never acknowledge the other.

So a little bit like you’re mentioning maybe with the total thing, is like, you’ve never mentioned his teammate’s name in interviews, press like he might say, oh yeah. He did a good race, like never mentioned him by his name and I think maybe then the other driver retired and said like yeah used to bug me, you know, he would never acknowledge like my existence.”

Now, many could believe Ricciardo mentioned the infamous battle between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. However, it is safe to assume that he is indeed talking about Rosberg and Michael Schumacher.

The pair were teammates at Mercedes from 2010 to 2012. They did not compete for the championship, but the German-Finnish driver revealed how Schumacher used to affect his mentality in a podcast with Ricciardo himself.

He stated, “Also, one of his main mission was never to show I existed in his life. Like he would never in any meetings, never ever ask, oh what was done on Nico’s car or hey Nico, what do you think there?

READ MORE:  Nico Rosberg Reveals the Bizarre Mind Games that Michael Schumacher Played

“But not once in three years like I did not exist. So, he wouldn’t show me at all that I even play a tiny role in his mind at any time.”

Nico Rosberg reveals one incident where Michael Schumacher messed with his mind

In his podcast with Ricciardo, Rosberg mentioned another incident where Schumacher messed with his mind. During the Monaco GP, he hinted that the seven-time world champion prevented him from using the restroom ahead of the qualifying session.

Since there is only one restroom in the garage, the 2016 world champion had nowhere else to go. Schumacher, meanwhile, took his time inside while Rosberg kept on banging the door. And with a minute to go, the former Ferrari driver let Rosberg relieve himself. However, this was enough to make him go into a state of panic.

WATCH THIS STORY: Ugliest Moments in Hamilton-Rosberg Rivalry

So, mind games play a huge part in a driver’s performances. It is certainly interesting to hear F1 drivers open up on the little games they play to affect the results.