Lance Stroll had a huge collision with Daniel Ricciardo at the Turn 14 hairpin of the Shanghai International Circuit on Sunday. This incident hoisted Ricciardo’s car in the air and caused significant damage to the floor, while also damaging Stroll’s car. The Honey Badger ultimately could not continue and had to retire from the race as well. However, when told that Stroll blamed him for the incident, Ricciardo came out all guns blazing to express his anger.
As seen in a video on Twitter (now X), Ricciardo told Viaplay, “I was told that he was blaming me for it, and if that’s true, I was starting to calm down but that really p*sses me off.”
The 34-year-old then elaborated on how he saw the Aston Martin driver’s onboard camera and noticed something that reflected that it was the #18 driver’s mistake. He stated, “As soon as we start to brake, he’s looking at the corner. He’s not focused on me, and you have to focus on the car in front of you.”
Oftentimes, Ricciardo keeps his emotions to himself and reacts calmly to the media after such incidents. However, Stroll’s reaction on his radio changed his calm stance this time around.
The Canadian driver stated on his team radio after crashing with Ricciardo that it was the V-CARB driver who braked all of a sudden. However, since the FIA penalized Stroll with a 10-second time penalty, it clearly indicates that the 25-year-old was at fault for this crash.
The Chinese GP safety car chaos cost Daniel Ricciardo dearly
After watching Lance Stroll‘s onboard camera, it seems clear that Daniel Ricciardo’s claim was correct about how the former was watching the apex of the corner and not the car in front. However, it cost Ricciardo more as he had to retire from the Grand Prix due to significant damage to his car’s floor.
Additionally, the former McLaren driver also inadvertently hit Oscar Piastri’s car, thereby damaging the diffuser of the 23-year-old’s car. The question that arises now is whether Stroll could have done anything to avoid this collision.
As Ricciardo suggested, had the Canadian been focused on the car ahead, he perhaps could have avoided crashing into the back of the Australian’s car. As for Ricciardo, his concerns do not just end there.
Amid the chaos between Ricciardo and Stroll, Nico Hulkenberg passed the #3 driver with the race still under Safety Car conditions. Now, this was permitted under Article 55.8 of the Sporting Regulations, with the Haas car overtaking due to the V-CARB getting slowed down massively because of the crash.
However, Ricciardo did not think it was permissible. Thus, the Australian passed Hulkenberg back in the subsequent safety car period on Lap 28.
The stewards deemed that this overtake did not have any “justifiable” reason. As a result, Ricciardo received a 10-second penalty that has become a three-place grid drop for the next Grand Prix [which will be in Miami].
