The Australian Formula 1 driver was very angry with Lance Stroll after the accident in China.
Daniel Ricciardo’s characteristic smile is rarely wiped off his face, but Lance Stroll managed to do it. During the race restart following the Safety Car in China, all cars were closely packed, and the Canadian failed to react to Ricciardo’s sudden braking in front of him, colliding with and launching the Australian’s car, ruining both their races.
The fault was attributed to the Aston Martin driver, who received a 10-second penalty and two penalty points on his license. Following the incident, he yelled over the radio: “Idiot.”
Daniel Ricciardo refused to stay silent, especially since he was having his first good race of the season at a time when he is under a lot of pressure from Red Bull.
“It’s very frustrating. Racing incidents happen, but behind a safety car, that should never occur. What made my blood boil was when I saw his onboard camera, to see it from his perspective,” Ricciardo angrily said, according to Marca, and stated that Stroll was not paying attention:
“He’s not even looking. I don’t know what he’s doing or where his head is, but all he needed to do was watch out for me in that situation, and clearly, he wasn’t.”
He added that he expects an apology: “Let’s see what he says to the media, but if he goes after me, then I’ll say more.”
Ricciardo’s serious expression was unrecognizable, and he continued by expressing his displeasure with what Lance said: “I had started to calm down gradually, and then they told me what Lance thinks of the incident. Apparently, I’m an idiot and it was my fault, which made my blood boil again because it’s as clear as day, especially behind a safety car.”
He went on to explain the incident, noting that in that moment, you just have to watch the car in front: “The only thing to do is to keep an eye on the car ahead, we can’t predict what the leader will do, the race doesn’t start until the control line.” Finally, he grew increasingly heated and exploded: “I’m doing everything I can not to say what I want to say, but fuck him, and I’m being polite, but if that’s what he thinks…”
