F1 Gold | How an intrateam collision in Baku 2018 almost sent Red Bull off the rails

It's 2018 and Max Verstappen is into his second full season with the Red Bull Formula 1 team. And he is impressive! Against his more experienced teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, the youngster is the one the team is building its future around, and they would do anything and everything to protect him.

Race strategies, Verstappen would get preference. Upgrades to the car, Verstappen is the one to test them first - preferably. And expectedly, it brought about a rift between the team's drivers. Ricciardo, who had outperformed Verstappen over 2018's first six races, felt that the team needed to support him more. Alas, the title of "wunderkind" would still hang around Verstappen's neck.

But 2018 would be a turning point for Red Bull, which the team and Ricciardo would struggle to come back from.

The Baku crash

The fourth round of the 2018 season would see the F1 circus visit Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The street circuit made its debut in 2017 and offers a variety of conditions ranging from slow-speed corners to a 2km straight where cars can reach speeds of up to 350km/h going into Turn 1.

And it was at this high-speed point that things went awry for the Austrian team.

Battling for fourth place, Ricciardo was hot on Verstappen's rear. The two drivers duelled for the better track position to everyone's delight, but you could sense something was coming. Verstappen did not let up, and Ricciardo would not settle behind his younger teammate. The duo was already 46 seconds behind race leader Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-AMG) and out of contention for the win, but they were battling hard team honours.

READ: OPINION | Why Daniel Ricciardo's poor McLaren form could mean his F1 exit

On lap 40/51, Ricciardo launched another attack on Verstappen.