‘F*** that guy’ - Daniel Ricciardo fumes at Lance Stroll after Safety Car crash
Daniel Ricciardo has criticised Lance Stroll over his refusal to take the blame for their collision in China.
A furious Daniel Ricciardo has lashed out at Lance Stroll following their collision in the F1 Chinese Grand Prix.
Ricciardo’s race was ruined after he was rear-ended by Stroll’s Aston Martin as the field bunched up at the hairpin during a Safety Car restart in Shanghai.
The contact caused heavy damage to the rear of Ricciardo’s RB car and he retired from the race shortly after.
Stroll, meanwhile, was hit with a 10-second time penalty for causing the collision and finished 15th.
The Canadian pinned the blame for the incident on Ricciardo, saying over team radio: “The idiot just slammed on the brake.”
Ricciardo said Stroll’s refusal to take blame for the clash “made my blood boil”.
"I'd slowly started to calm down, and then I was told what Lance thinks of the incident,” Ricciardo is quoted as saying by Autosport.
“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.
"The only thing you've got to do is watch the car in front. We can't predict what the leader's gonna do. The race doesn't start until the control line.
"I'm doing my best not to say what I want to say, but f*** that guy. And I'm being nice, too! But if that's what he thinks…"
And Ricciardo hopes Stroll will take responsibility when he looks back at the incident.
“I won't go harder because maybe in an hour when he sees it, he might take some accountability,” he added. “But if he doesn't, I can't help him.
"Maybe in an hour, when he sees it, he might take some accountability. But if he doesn't, I can't help him, nor can anyone here.
"It's so frustrating. Obviously, racing incidents happen, but behind a safety car, that should never happen.
"What made my blood boil is I watched his onboard, to just see it from his perspective.
"And as soon as we start braking, you can see his helmet turn right and he's looking at the apex of Turn 14, he's not even watching me. And then when he looks back, he's in the back of me.
"I don't know what he's doing, where his head is, but all he has to do is worry about me in that situation, and he clearly wasn't. Let's see what he says in the media, but if he comes after me, then I'll say more..."
