Daniel Ricciardo is on a 180 after his retirement in China: He rages because Lance Stroll doesn’t realize his mistake in the accident and blames others for it
“I’m doing my best not to say what I want to say, but: Fuck that Guy!” – With these words, Daniel Ricciardo rails against fellow driver Lance Stroll after the Formula 1 race in China. The latter had crashed into his car before the restart in the first safety car phase, ultimately causing the Racing Bulls driver to retire
The field was just about to get ready for the race again when a number of cars jammed up in front of the hairpin. However, Stroll noticed this too late and drove into the rear of Ricciardo, who in turn hit Oscar Piastri (McLaren). Piastri and Stroll were able to continue with damage, but for Ricciardo the race was over in a promising position.
But what bothered Ricciardo far more than his retirement was Stroll’s reaction to the incident. Because there was no sign of insight. Instead, the Canadian said on the radio: “This idiot just slammed on the brakes. Check for possible damage to the front wing.”
And that’s exactly what got Ricciardo’s “blood boiling”, as he says. “I slowly started to calm down, but then I was told how Lance felt about the accident. Apparently I’m an idiot and it was my fault,” he shakes his head.
The situation is crystal clear for Ricciardo: “The only thing you have to do behind the safety car is to pay attention to the car in front of you. We can’t predict what the leaders will do.”
“Of course, racing accidents happen, but they should never happen behind the safety car,” he says. Ricciardo had even watched the onboard footage of Stroll to understand at least a little bit about how this could happen.
“But you can see that his helmet immediately turns to the right as he brakes and he’s looking at the apex of turn 14. He’s not looking at me at all, and when he looks back, he’s hanging off the back of me,” he explains.
LAP 27/56
The Safety Car comes in and we are racing again, or are we…
Magnussen sends Tsunoda spinning at the restart and team mate Ricciardo is shunted from behind by Stroll F1 ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/DrL5kOOJlu
– Formula 1 (@F1) April 21, 2024
“I don’t know what he’s doing, where his head is, but you only have to worry about me at that moment, and he clearly doesn’t. “
Ricciardo hopes for late insight
Ricciardo hopes that Stroll will show a little more insight during the media rounds after the race, as he did not do so during the race. A little later, he described the ten-second penalty he had received for the collision as a “joke”.
For now, Ricciardo wants to avoid any more bad words towards Stroll: “I’m not going to get any harsher, because if he looks at it again in an hour, then he’ll take responsibility,” he hopes, “but if not, then I can’t help him. Nobody here can. “
LAP 35/56
Ricciardo’s race is run ❌
The Aussie gets a consoling pat on the back in the garageF1 ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/WQB94SW9r6
– Formula 1 (@F1) April 21, 2024
“It’s so frustrating. Let’s see what he says to the media, but if he blames me, then I’ll say more,” says the Australian. He also emphasized that he doesn’t usually read what riders say after the race, “but I’ll make sure someone tells me. “
Stroll does not see himself as being at fault
Stroll himself avoids apportioning blame to Ricciardo after the race, but at the same time avoids admitting guilt. “It was an accordion effect,” he defends himself. “Someone hit the brakes at the front, I don’t know who, and then everyone stopped. The car in front of me just went from 60 to zero, it was a really stupid incident.”
The Aston Martin driver is adamant that the penalty is a joke: “It was simply because I hit the guy in front of me,” he waves it away. “It was just this strange concertina effect, and I wish the stewards would take that into account more. “
When asked about Ricciardo’s statements that he should have paid attention to the car in front of him, Stroll replies: “No, no. If someone hadn’t hit the brakes in front, there wouldn’t have been an accordion effect and there wouldn’t have been any problems. I really think it was one of those stupid incidents. “
Ricciardo: “He was under me!”
Ricciardo sees it differently, describing the situation even before Stroll’s first interview: “I could see that it was building up in front of me at Turn 14. I guess Max was leading. We don’t know when he will set off. Even if there is a traffic jam before turn 14, it doesn’t mean that he will leave after turn 14. Maybe he will slow again at turn 15 or 16,” said the RB driver.
“Of course you have to try to be close to the guy in front, but you shouldn’t hit him, should you?” he asks ironically.
“Yes, we were all jammed up, but it’s a hairpin. It’s not like he just nudged me and gave me a puncture. He drove under my car. He hit me so fast, you can’t deny that. It’s not bad luck where he just touches me. He was under me!”
Rewind to the restart ⏪
Stroll Ricciardo
F1 ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/C0nn5PdiQL
– Formula 1 (@F1) April 21, 2024
That’s why Ricciardo’s first reaction on the radio was: “What a fucking asshole!”
Surrender after severe damage to the car
The accident damaged the underbody of Ricciardo’s VCARB 01, meaning he lost a lot of downforce and was no longer able to fend off the competition. “I could feel that I was quite high, so I knew it could be bad,” he says.
“We had a couple of corners before the restart and I could already feel it was going to be bad. We tried again, but deep down I knew we had to park the car.”
This is bitter for Ricciardo, as he was in the points and could have scored his first points of the year. But he goes home empty-handed again – and with a bitter feeling about Stroll.
“Like I said, I hope he takes some responsibility when he comes here,” he says. “We all make mistakes. As long as he understands that he messed up – his race and mine – that’s the most important thing. “
