Insult to Injury: Ricciardo ‘Pissed Off’ at Stroll for Refusing Responsibility in China Crash.
During the Chinese Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo slowed down to avoid a collision with a line of cars created when Fernando Alonso, an Aston Martin driver, locked up during the lap-23 safety-car restart. Lance Stroll, Alonso’s teammate, failed to react in time and crashed into the back of Ricciardo’s car.
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After the race, Ricciardo was informed that Stroll blamed him for the incident, which frustrated him greatly.
“He’s saying it was my mistake?” Ricciardo told Sky Sports. “I was starting to calm down, but that really pisses me off. I watched his onboard footage. He wasn’t even looking at me. We started to brake, and his head turned towards the corner; then he started to accelerate or came off the brake and was right underneath me. That pisses me off.”
Stroll received a 10-second race penalty and two penalty points on his FIA Super License.
Adding to Ricciardo’s woes, the stewards were still reviewing his pass on Haas’s Kevin Magnussen under safety-car conditions. After a post-race hearing, Ricciardo was handed a three-position grid penalty for the upcoming Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix. If this decision had been made before Ricciardo retired, he would have likely received a 10-second race penalty. Ricciardo was also given two penalty points on his FIA Super License, matching Stroll’s.
Ricciardo contended that he was reclaiming a position that Magnussen had taken in a similar manner, but the stewards disagreed.
