Christian Horner has backed Daniel Ricciardo to respond positively to Max Verstappen's recent form and believes the two men are getting the best from each other.
Verstappen ended Ricciardo's inter-team domination of qualifying at the British Grand Prix before a strong drive to second position, which included a thrilling battle with championship leader Nico Rosberg. It gave Verstappen his third Driver of the Day accolade since his switch to Red Bull -- a period of time which has seen Ricciardo struggle by comparison, though he lost wins in Spain and Monaco through strategy and a botched pit stop.
During the Silverstone weekend Ricciardo admitted the atmosphere at the team has changed since Verstappen replaced Daniil Kvyat and said it is "bringing out the best in both of us". Horner agrees with that opinion and thinks Ricciardo is going to come back strongly.
"I think Daniel is a class driver and he has demonstrated already this year that he is at the top of his game," Horner said. "No teammate likes being the second of the cars to finish and I am sure he will respond positively. But it is a positive thing in the team. There is no animosity or anything. It is just two guys going for it and going flat-out. It is very healthy for us."
When asked if the dynamic at the team had shifted since Verstappen's arrival, Horner said: "Well, not really. Obviously we have got two very strong drivers in the cars and they are pushing each other hard, which is great to see and there is a confidence in the team that you can see is growing."
Horner has praised Ricciardo's reaction to Verstappen's arrival and points out he has had the lion's share of bad luck in recent races.
"I think Daniel is dealing with it very well. He got a little bit unlucky with the VSC period [at Silverstone]. That cost him probably about 10 seconds and allowed Perez to effectively get a free stop ahead of him. But that is just the run of the green. You can't anticipate when there is going to be a VSC.
"He then cleared Perez and was slowly catching on that group, but the damage was done to his race. He is going to have a couple of Sundays come up where I am sure everything will fall his way and it will be swings and roundabouts."