RB Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo has criticised Lance Stroll for the clash that ruined his Chinese Grand Prix, citing how his rival was “miles off” with his judgement.
Ricciardo had outperformed team-mate Yuki Tsunoda all weekend and was running in ninth place as the race prepared to get going again following a Safety Car stint.
However, as the cars bunched up at the Turn 14 hairpin to resume racing, Stroll ran into the back of the RB under braking and gave Ricciardo substantial floor damage.
The Australian would slip back through the pack on the restart with his wounded car before retiring, with Stroll handed a 10-second time drop for causing the collision.
Ricciardo has condemned Stroll for curtailing his prospects of a valuable points finish and was puzzled that the Canadian’s attention wasn’t fixated on the cars ahead.
“It’s a restart, so we don’t know what the leader is going to do,” Ricciardo reflected. “So you have to be as kind of vigilant as ever. And be prepared for any situation.
“I could see it was obviously bunching up into the hairpin, so everyone is backing up.
“But then obviously how hard he’s hit me, and pretty much put half his car under mine, it wasn’t a small lack of judgement. He was miles off.
“So yeah, for that for me, it’s not an excuse.
“I think what’s frustrating is that I watched his onboard, and he’s not even looking at me. You can see his helmet, he’s looking at the apex at the corner.
“I don’t know why he’s not looking at the car in front, unless his eyes are doing something funny. It looked like he wasn’t looking at me.
“I think it shows how hard he hit me. He was clearly focused on something else.”
Despite rebounding from his struggles to sustain a more promising weekend, Ricciardo has conceded that his premature retirement provided another “blow” in 2024.
“I think that’s where right now, that’s where it’s even more disappointing for us as a team in the garage,” he reviewed.
“Everyone feels like it’s another blow to the start of the season. I think 48 hours from now when this disappointment starts to fade, we’ll look back on a positive weekend.”
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