For the first time in the season, Daniel Ricciardo was ahead of his teammate Yuki Tsunoda on all fronts. He kept his biggest competitor at bay in all events during the Chinese GP weekend. Finally, the Australian was enjoying a positive weekend until lap 26 of the 56-lap Grand Prix. This was when Lance Stroll hit the back of Ricciardo’s VCARB-01 right before the restart under the first safety car of the race. The collision ended Ricciardo’s race a few laps later and he was extremely frustrated with the outcome. However, his frustration boiled over when Lance Stroll was unrepentant about the incident after the race.
After getting to know that Stroll blamed the Australian for the incident in his radio conversion, Ricciardo controlled his emotions as best he could. Despite that, while speaking to the media as quoted by Autosport, he said,
“I’d slowly started to calm down, and then I was told what Lance thinks of the incident. Apparently, I’m an idiot, and it was my fault. That made my blood boil because it’s clear as day and it’s also behind a safety car.”
I didn’t clock until Ricciardo pointed out in his post race interview, right before Stroll runs into the back of him he’s too busy looking at the apex and not watching Ricciardo
Definite penalty pic.twitter.com/NGs6Qbz6nM
— Aldas (@Aldas001) April 21, 2024
“I’m doing my best not to say what I want to say, but f**k that guy,” he concluded.
Clearly, Ricciardo has pent-up frustration toward Stroll for ending his race early and his hopes for the first points-scoring finish of the season.
The safety car happened due to Valtteri Bottas’s engine failure. After a brief VSC, Race Control deployed the full safety car. At this stage, both Ricciardo and Stroll were gunning to stay in the top 10. However, on the lap that the safety car was ending, Stroll was looking at the turn 14 apex rather than the car in front, which was Ricciardo.
With no place to go the Aston Martin man went straight into the RB car’s back giving it some air time. This lapse of concentration from Stroll also added to Ricciardo’s annoyance.
Daniel Ricciardo reveals how Lance Stroll was not paying attention right before the crash
After retiring his car, the Australian reviewed the incident. Soon after he saw the replays, especially Stroll’s onboard his irritation peaked. Ricciardo revealed Stroll was not paying attention to the car in front of him at the apex of Turn 14.
The Australian elaborated on how it is important to focus on the car in front during a safety car period. Besides, given how the drivers have to drive at a relatively slower speed during a safety car, the Canadian driver’s late braking maneuver made little sense.
Daniel Ricciardo on Lance stroll
“He’s saying my mistake? I had started to calm down, but that pisses me off. I watched his onboard. He’s not even looking at me. We start to brake, and his head is looking at the corner. […] That pisses me off.”
— FirstSportz F1 (@FirstsportzF1) April 21, 2024
With the #18 driver not even accepting the blame, it’s understandable why Ricciardo said what he said. To add insult to injury, the Honey Badger will take his wounds from China to Miami in a couple of weeks.
He has got a three-place grid penalty for the upcoming race for infringement under the safety car. Luckily, it would be for the Sprint race in Miami but why? Well, after the incident with Stroll, another safety car was deployed as Ricciardo’s teammate spun around by Haas’s Kevin Magnussen.
Not to take revenge, Ricciardo overtook his teammate Nico Hulkenberg under the safety car on lap 28, as the latter had passed him during his crash with Stroll. This was noted and penalized by the stewards after the race. Overall, it was a weekend to forget for Daniel Ricciardo who was finally on a roll.
