Ricciardo: No way to avoid Verstappen crash after he changed lines

2018 Spanish Grand Prix

Posted on

| Written by and

Daniel Ricciardo says it was impossible to avoid crashing into Max Verstappen after his team mate changed lines when they collided in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Formula One’s managing director of motorsport Ross Brawn said verstappen’s move made Ricciardo “a passenger” because it deprived his car of downforce. Ricciardo agreed with Brawn’s analysis.

“I definitely committed early enough and, at the time, with a clear inside,” said Ricciardo. “I’m then on the brakes and when you get the air taken away, you could see I tried to pull out of it but there was no real escape route after that.

“You lose all downforce and everything. Even the brakes, they lock a lot easier when you don’t have the downforce on. That was like the end result but it was due to that inside closing up.”

Red Bull conducted a detailed post-mortem into the crash which put both its cars out of the race, said Ricciardo.

“We all talked about it from all different points of view. What the drivers could’ve done better: obviously Max and myself. What the team could’ve done better: Christian [Horner] and the decision makers on the pit wall. What the engineers could’ve done better or different. So everyone was involved in the process. We had some long discussions.

“Obviously we are the drivers, we created, in the end, the incident. But it was an accumulation of events and it was important to address all areas. I don’t think it was just us in that moment, there was a build-up and maybe a way we could’ve responded better, whether it was releasing a car or something, a lot of things were talked about.”

McLaren MCL33 nose and front wing, Circuit de Catalunya, 2018
Spanish GP build-up in pictures
He believes the team will be more likely to tell its drivers to swap positions in a similar scenario in future.

“I think if it got to that point again where there’s banging wheels and stuff then [they would]. Especially if the car [behind] is faster then you’d probably expect at some point they’ll [say] swap cars and release one of them. There’s no guarantee but that was one thing they certainly talked about.”

Ricciardo indicated he will be more insistent in calling for a change of positions if he feels Verstappen is holding him up in future.

“Maybe that’s my problem: I’m saying I can go faster but I’m not shouting, sounding like a… little girl. But maybe I should.”

Verstappen already has a Red Bull deal for the 2019 F1 season but Ricciardo is considering his options for next year. He wouldn’t be drawn on whether the collision will influence his thinking. “I won’t comment,” he said. “Can we move on from Baku? You can ask me about Baku last year if you want!”

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

2018 F1 season

Browse all 2018 F1 season articles

91 comments on “Ricciardo: No way to avoid Verstappen crash after he changed lines”

  1. Vettel fan 17 (@)
    10th May 2018, 22:02

    Completely agree. As Brawn also said he lost downforce so he was always going to lock up when Verstappen made his second move.

    1. petebaldwin (@)
      11th May 2018, 10:11

      He’s made several overtakes where he’s come from deep and if the defending driver had cut across his line, they’d have been crashes as well. If Ricciardo is at fault here, he should also be criticised for his other dive-bomb moves….

      The only blame I’d personally put on him here is that he was a bit stupid to try a do-or-die move on a driver known to block in the breaking zone. He’d been stuck behind Max for so long though that when he got out back behind him in the pits, this sort move was inevitable.

      1. You’re reasoning the wrong way. Blaming the victim if you like: “The only blame I’d personally put on him here is that he was a bit stupid to try a do-or-die move on a driver known to block in the breaking zone.”
        Ric, like all other drivers, shouldn’t be put in a situation in which one is forced to ask oneself whether a competitor refrains from dangerous, illegal moves which can be executed in a split of a second.

        1. If Ricciardo is at fault here

      2. Jack Beancorn
        11th May 2018, 16:23

        This warrants a comment on its own. Looks lost tagged to the first comment of them all. No idea why someone would do that.

  2. Basically a very long winded way of saying what most people already knew after watching the first replay… this accident happened because Max suddenly moved under breaking while both were traveling at 250 kmh. I love Max and his style (most of the time) This, however, was in my opinion at least 80% his fault. Perhaps Daniel’s only mistake was to assume Max would defend like any other driver would.

    1. This 100%, there should be a penalty, for this kind of second defensive move under braking phase of the corner.

      1. Absolutely. A clear breach of the rules causing an accident. Was it even investigated?

        In the same race, another gets a grid penalty for the following race (almost unheard of), and that was for a L1 incident as well when all sorts of things happen.

        It’s all about who you are and what team you are driving for.

        Inconsistent and unfair stewarding is frankly putting the sport in disrepute IMO.

  3. blocking, defending, attacking, picking the right battle… we all want to see more overtaking, and we want the guys to go wheel to wheel, but there has to be a line, and a higher level of respect, over the out and out win or “i’m faster” mentality.
    Watching the race, I thought Max had barged his way past at the start, Danny not just giving up, but being fair and leaving enough space once Max had thrown himself into a gap. Whenever Danny did the same, the respect was not reciprocated. I see this all the time in online racing: blocking. Max is very good, but to beat him is more difficult than beating anyone else at the same speed, because it’s not about fair racing for him, it’s about staying in front at all costs.
    Formula 1 is not endurance racing, but it’s not spring racing either, and 1-2 hours racing means theres more at stake than just one corner, one lap. I get that these guys are at the top of their game, but even if Max consistently out-qualified Danny, which he doesn’t, I’d still be of the inclination that as a Formula 1 driver, over a 200 mile race, Danny is the better racer, and as a result, he has more points, and a win, that Max could have had if he thought more about the whole race and not just who he is racing against in one corner.
    Had they been smart, fair, and real team mates, they could have not only stayed in the race, but probably helped each other to speed up rather than losing time fighting each other.
    Over the course of a season, a career, the guy who wins fairly wins more consistently, and Danny is that guy. If only Max could see him as a big brother to learn from, and give the space, concede when it’s only fair to do so, and most importantly overtake cleanly to prove he is the best rather than just getting his elbows out every time he’s under threat -we’d have better role models to follow.

    1. This. I had pretty much this exact discussion with my brother during the race. If only Max could have seen past his own ambition for a second, both Red Bulls would have fared much better & bagged loads of points… maybe even a win or podium. He needs to get better at risk assessment. He’ll never be a world champ if he keeps tangling with opponents… least of all his teammate. Daniel is the better, fairer racer IMO. Max has the ability to be spectacular, but he’s in his own way at the moment.

      1. I couldn’t agree more. To quote my new website HasVerstappenCrashedToday.com (Shameless plug, updates to come very soon):

        I actually really like Max Verstappen. I just think he needs to get a handle on which moves work and which don’t, and quickly before he gets a very bad reputation.

        1. @drmouse

          Has it really come to this! Verstappen is becoming the new Maldonado… we didn’t even do this for the tornado Kvyat.

          Let’s see what this weekend brings, I will hold out hope that he picks himself up from this bad form.

          1. @captainpie He’s heading that way. I would say he’s a better racing driver than Maldonardo and has way more potential, but he really needs to get a grip on himself!

            I’d love to take the site down because he had improved. As soon as I think he’s on the path to recovery, I will do so.

    2. Exactly. We need a vote thumbs up button

  4. Ricciardo seemed a little down in an interview by Buxton I saw on YouTube. It’s quite sad, that despite the crash being more Verstappen’s fault, it’s clear the team will never single out Max to fault. I think he sees the writing on the wall in terms of his Red Bull career.

    1. Sorry for the bad grammar, I’m very sleepy :D

      1. @wsrgo – no worries. We will only ask you about last year’s grammar.

        Agree that RBR have to keep Max happy first and Ricciardo happy first plus a bit.

        1. I found Ricciardo’s “You can ask me about Baku last year if you want!” hilarious, but you just topped that, @jimmi-cynic !

        2. @jimmi-cynic Aha! Good one ;)

    2. petebaldwin (@)
      11th May 2018, 10:15

      To me, the way RBR apportioned the blame seemed to hint at Ricciardo’s future plans….

  5. I wonder how this changes his negotiations with Ferrari.

    In my view he has distinguished himself in all this. He raced a difficult teammate about as fairly as possible. He accepted the teams punishment, despite considerable support from fans and other drivers. I think that is the kind of teamwork teams want.

    But it’s also seems clear his motivation to leave Red Bull increased. At best his team was unwilling to pick sides before and after the race. In my view they made clear who their #1 driver is. So it seems to me he lost value.

    So perhaps he became a more attractive driver, but lost money in the process?

    1. i don’t think so, no.
      Red Bull can protect Verstappen as much as they want, but everybody knows who was to blame on that crash.
      Everybody knows who was the guy who never even once crashed while overtaking on 4 full seasons with Red Bull, while the other did it on the then last race.

      His motivation to leave is increasing, and his value to other teams is probably on the same place. He is a team player, but that doesn’t mean he is ok to be the number 2.

      1. Martijn (@)
        11th May 2018, 8:15

        So, basically Max was impatient in China with his move on Vettel, but Ric was not impatient in Baku. Ric did nothing wrong. Wow, just wow..

        1. Ricciardo was a little impatient and frustrated. He had been stuck behind his teammate for a long time. Having finally passed him, Verstappen regained the lead in the pits. He knew he was going to have to be more aggressive to get back past, so made a move which he thought would work. This is why he shares some of the responsibility for the crash.

          Against Vettel, however (if I’m remembering the correct incident), Verstappen made an aggressive, late dive which would rarely work if ever. The gap was always going to disappear. Vettel didn’t make any additional blocking moves, and couldn’t have avoided him.

          You’re not even comparing apples with oranges, you’re comparing apples with asteroids!

          1. And Verstappen already blew the chance to overtake Hamilton before crashing into Vettel in China.

            As for Ricciardo, the guy spent 30 laps trying to do it cleanly and Verstappen even touched wheels with him overshooting the first corner to stay ahead.

            I won’t blame the guy who barely ever made a mistake at overtaking. He did nothing different than what he did in China and won him the race.

  6. Can’t believe this Max guy.
    Does this all the time. What he did to Kimi at Spa a couple years ago was the most ridiculous block I’ve ever seen.
    That’s rental go kart kind of stuff that people do who have no experience of racing.
    New Maldonado here, new Maldonado.

    1. Martijn (@)
      11th May 2018, 8:20

      Wow, isn’t that exactly what all said about Seb and Lewis? Must be some potential lingering there then..

      Niki Lauda
      “What Hamilton did there goes beyond all boundaries”. “He is completely mad. If the FIA does not punish him, I do not understand the world anymore. At some point, there has to be an end to all the jokes. You cannot drive like this – as it will result in someone getting killed.”

      Jackie Stewart
      “Lewis is having too many collisions with too many drivers, and he can’t blame the stewards, because there is a different set at every race.
      “I’m a great supporter of Lewis, but I think he’s hiding under blinkers at the moment. You can’t keep going for gaps that don’t exist, and if he’s blaming the car and the team, that’s just unprofessional. No driver had the perfect car.”

      Stirling Moss
      “Lewis is going a bit too far in some cases, his handling of himself is not that good. His father is no longer his manager, which is a problem. If they could get together, it would be a good thing.”

      1. @mayrton

        Most of the quotes you’ve taken are from Lewis’ 2011 season. Which was a bad one for him in terms of headspace and race craft. Seb has had the crash kid reputation as well from 2009 and 2010. But I think it’s a little different for Max.. he’s had it from him first season up in to his 4th season and honestly it’s only gotten worse.

        I’m a fan of Max, and I think he can iron out these issues and be a great driver, but Seb and Lewis learned from their mistakes a whole lot quicker than Max has. Max still has a bit to go.

        1. Max will not learn. This is the way his dd learned him how to race from when he was a little kid.
          It is so automatic for him as breathing is for us.
          Max is fast and will win his share of races, but he will never ever be a world champion.

        2. @todfod Agreed, let’s see whether he can get himself out of the current streak

      2. @mayrton

        You keep trotting out these lines in response to any Max comments.

        You forget something.

        These comments relate to Lewis in the context of already being a world champion, having won dozens of races and having actually won three races that ‘bad’ year. He also, for example got the only none Red Bull pole that year. The only one.

        In other words he was having a bad year for his standards. So was Massa.

        Max cannot lay claim to any of the above accomplishments and is just driving badly.

        1. That makes Lewis mistakes even worse..

          1. @mayrton excuses for everything. saw that movie before.

      3. petebaldwin (@)
        11th May 2018, 10:18

        @mayrton You can add in Seb (crash kid) Vettel, Senna and Schumacher who were all criticised when they were new….

        The top drivers push the limits and sometimes, they step over them. As they get more mature, they learn to get things right on the limit without crossing it (as much)

        1. @petebaldwin I agree. Now let’s hope this applies to Max

      4. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
        11th May 2018, 13:01

        @mayrton @todfod 2011 was a bit special but those incidents weren’t necessarily Lewis’s fault – you coud easily ascribe the fault to the other drivers in almost every case. I think Lewis somehow was able to learn from his mistakes and others’s mistakes and that was literally a “crash” course.

        The lesson is simple – “even if there’s room and the pass is there, you don’t necessarily go for it cause you can’t predict the other driver’s behavior”. It’s bad for racing but not everyone is as good as Fernando or Lewis on the grid in terms of being able to race within inches, they have to race at the other driver’s level.

      5. @mayrton
        Wow, isn’t that exactly what all said about Seb and Lewis? – No
        Must be some potential lingering there then.. – Wow, so in your quest to clear your hero of all blame., you’re mixing up two total different things.
        That makes Lewis mistakes even worse.. – Hhh, so stubborn you are.

        1. tbh I’d bet a lot of thing on you hating VES way more than @mayrton considers him a “hero” based on your post.

          That makes Lewis mistakes even worse.. – Hhh, so stubborn you are.

          Not an argument.

          Which isn’t to say VES is going to go down and e.g. 30 years from now be remembered as some dutch Senna or whatever (maybe he won’t, maybe he will) but naming names isn’t the way to go. (“hero”, “victim” while the consensus of that being the case isn’t even very existent if at all (I know stewards aren’t perfect but they are probably much better racing drivers than you are))

          Besides, the driver(s) mentioned here turned out OK (even after Turkey and Spa 2010). Maybe VES won’t, maybe VES will. You look like someone who would deny it to death should it ever turn out that VES ends up being OK in the future)

  7. They need to hit Verstappen every time he pulls this or it will end up like Schumacher. Schumacher did that move across anyone trying to take him at the start and all the drivers during his era let him get away with it instead of just hitting him. Try that move on Berger and you end up in the gravel.

    1. Well if he ends up like Schumacher in his career, that’s not really a bad way to end up is it?

      1. For him, yes. For the rest of us, not so much…

  8. @graigchq
    I think you said it beautifully. Max wants to stay ahead at all costs. He would rather they both crash, than RIC overtake him in the same car and finish ahead of him, and as was said already, he needs to learn that to win the war you do not need to win every battle.

  9. ”You can ask me about Baku last year if you want!” – LOL.

  10. Meh, people are quick to blame Max at the moment and I understand that. But Ricciardo has just been throwing it down the inside like a wild goose quite a bit lately and expecting the space to be there too, China could have gone very differently. Sure, put the blame 60, 70, 80% even towards Max at a stretch, he could have given the space, but to blame the incident all on him isn’t seeing the full picture.

    At the end of the day I suspect Verstappen would have rather crashed than let Ricciardo overtake and then importantly pull away. That would have been a bigger defeat than losing some points in a championship fight he isn’t going to win this year anyway. People saying he doesn’t have the mentality or ability of a world champion are missing the point. It’s not all about a points tally.

    Sure it was a stubborn, and probably a bit stupid. But name me a world champion who doesn’t have those traits in spades.

    1. But Verstappen isn’t a world champion yet, so right now he’s just a stubborn and a bit stupid driver. It’s not like Ricciardo throws it down the inside regardless of what’s on the way. He switched right, Max covered it, RIC then switched left and went for the gap… and Max changed direction again. If every driver has to assume that the preceding driver is going to block him when he’s going for a pass, then all we’re going to see are DRS highway overtakes.

      1. But Verstappen isn’t a world champion yet, so right now he’s just a stubborn and a bit stupid driver

        So champions turn a bit stubborn and stupid after winning the WDC?

    2. At last, an opinion I agree with @skipgamer. Yes Max could have let Dan pass but that’s not in the racing driver’s credo. Dan should have known that Max would close the door or wouldn’t dive out of his way as he banzai’d up the inside. Two drivers at the top of their game, each racing to beat the other. Dan should have known that he would lose downforce but took the gamble anyway. I don’t get all the Max-bashing over this.

      1. “At last, an opinion I agree with skipgamer.” Hhhhh
        I don’t get all the Max-bashing over this. – Maybe you should get to know what the rules have to say about what is permissible in terms of defending.

    3. Alain Prost. Niki Lauda. Emerson Fittipaldi. Jackie Stewart.
      Need more?

      1. If you look closely at the onboard videos you can see that RIC steered to the left inside again before Ver moved. So even if Ver would have done nothing, RIC would have crashed into the reared of Ver.

      2. Jenson Button, Kimi Raikkonnen, Fernando Alonso, Damon Hill, Mika Hakkinen… more??

        1. I question Alonso and Raikkonnen being on that list… I knew Button and Hill would come up though, those gentlemanly brits and all.

  11. Max is going to lose his drive if he keeps wrecking. It’s less expensive to swap drivers than continually lose points because your driver can’t finish a race. Don’t get me wrong, I like the guy, but like Roman Grosjean he needs to adjust a bit if he wants to stick around.

    I mean, it’s not like he’s got Pastor Maldonado’s money keeping him in the seat.

    1. Right RBR is in it to become world champion not to let Max drive some lap and then get 0 points.
      If max will not improve this year i suspect that his 5th year will not be with RBR but he will finish his contract with the torro guys

    2. Red Bull need somewhere to put Carlos Sainz, so if the Toro Rosso duo pick up their game and Max doesn’t, he could have quite a problem on his hands…

  12. So basically the accident was caused by aero depriving Ricciardo’s car of downforce and braking. Not Verstappen’s block. Personally I thought Verstappen’s driving was brilliant, his overtaking and defence against Ricciardo, who was faster, were superb, judged right to the edge. I don’t think the accident was much different. The problem was Ricciardo trying to sell a dummy and not really doing enough to lure Verstappen away from the wall before he tried to dive down the gap. As for the obvious signals he’s giving that Red Bull need to get the slower driver to pull over in such situations, that could and probably will cut both ways over the course of the season. It’ll be interesting to see if he agrees if and when he’s the slower car but ahead.

    1. Sonsofbeaches
      11th May 2018, 5:14

      So when Max went to the cover the outside and then ducked back inside he was just being clever and brilliantly tricking Ric into ending the race early and allowing Max to reclaim his rightful place as team champion ?

      1. Since it is in the rulebook that you can defend and go back to your raceline, yes!
        And I know you have to leave a car width of space on the inside, when viewed from the front I believe there is enough space. Only Ricciardo never went further inside but tried to go back to the outside and therefore hitting Verstappen.

    2. So basically the accident was caused by aero depriving Ricciardo’s car of downforce and braking. Not Verstappen’s block. – No, basically the accident was caused by aero depriving Ricciardo’s car of downforce and braking because of Verstappen’s block.
      Personally I thought Verstappen’s driving was brilliant, his overtaking and defence against Ricciardo, who was faster, were superb, judged right to the edge. – I agree, bar the crashcausing blocking and the wheelbanging incident.

  13. How long before we hear Daniel say, “Not bad for a number two driver !”

    100% Max’s fault, the writing is on the wall when RB dont slap the kid down as they should. He is fast but way too dangerous.
    I think Mercedes is a better bet than Ferrari, Vettel has the number one spot sewn up, but Lewis might just leave next year and DR is the ideal guy for them.

    1. Bottas is driving really well, so I’m not that sure about Dan getting that Merc seat.

      Regarding Ferrari, I think it’s silly for him to even expect equal status. Ferrari won’t give him that status, and if Ferrari were willing to give him equal status, Seb would do everything in his mishap to block his move to Ferrari. If Dan thinks Red Bull are favouring Max right now, I have absolutely no idea what he’ll think when he enters Seb’s red team.

      1. I agree with @smudgersmiyth1… Who’s to say it won’t be RIC and BOT at Mercedes if Bottas remains stronger than Hamilton as the season rolls on?

  14. Max may have won the the battle of preventing Ricciardo passing but he certainly is losing the points war.

  15. This again? Blablabla

    RIC says he was quicker than Max, Helmut Marko says it was only the tow + DRS and Max was in fact quicker. But it was last race, let’s move on.

    1. RIC closed the gap to Max after the pitstop quite easily again to get in his DRS again. He also out-qualified Verstappen. RIC was way faster than Max at Baku mate.

      1. That was because of Verstappen just leaving the pits on cold tyres while Ricciardo just pitted the lap before and his tyres were already warmed up. Before, Verstappen was able to pull away from Ricciardo until he was held up by Hamilton, allowing Ricciardo to close up again within DRS range and overtake him. Max was indeed

        1. faster.

          1. @silfen
            Same situation applied the other way around. So Ric was indeed

        2. Ric gapped Max after he passed him the first time.

          1. Not really. Just check the lap chart. 1.1 sec. max was probably preparing the magnificent over-cut

            The facts are out there, so let’s move on

      2. True RIC was quicker in Q3. Check the sector times and see the tow he got from Kimi.

        1. Yes indeed, the facts are out there. Is you calling our bluff? I was watching the live coverage and my observations were backed by the lap chart: Ric gapped Max after he had passed him, immediately (within one lap) got himself out of DRS.
          Max was preparing the ‘magnificent” (hhhhhhh) overcut? Wasn’t having the ‘tow’ such a big advantage, why would Max let that one slip? Hhhhhhh
          Sector times don’t reveal any tow. What they do reveal is that Ric was faster in sector one, sector three and in total. And just to get rid of that ‘tow argument’, Ric was about 2.4 – 3 seconds behind Kimi. Not close enough. But if you wére willing to accept that as an argument, then you should do the same with Ver, who was about the same distance behind Ric, hhhhhhh

          The facts are out there patrick, let’s move on, hhhhhhh

      3. @jeffreyj
        This anunaki guy is something else. This is like the 40th time he brings up the tow bogus. He now brings up Helmut Marko, because he shpuld know :-))
        Ric was faster, all weekend long. He did get caught out sleeping by Max right after the first SC, however. But apart from that, he was consistently faster.

  16. We had some long discussions.

    I suspect this means the problem could easily happen again.

    1. Depends what was in the discussions and who was involved…

  17. So if they’re prepared to go for something as drastic as Halo on safety grounds, then they better sort the ‘moving’ in front of other cars rule out, or fix the down-force problem, on safety grounds, asap. Maybe have sensors that when a car is behind at a certain distance the driver can’t move at all.

    Journalists need to ask if the cars are safe.

  18. I have the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix on replay…

    1. That one was all Ericsson.

      1. Why would Ericsson do this?

      2. @keithcollantine inb4 a problem with Ericsson communication devices played a part in turkey 2010.

  19. I’ll stick with the 50/50 blame ratio that the stewards deemed to be the case. As they said, Max’s moves were minimal. To me DR never moved his own car enough to claim a lane…he was always at least with some part of his car behind Max, so it’s like he expected all along for Max to just open up the inside for him. Max may have been slightly naughty with his feign, but it was only a feign by inches, and not like he had ever taken a full car width away from DR. Maybe DR has become too predictable with his dive bomb attempts, which usually would work better on lesser cars or cars on lesser tire states, as has often been the case with DR’s moves. So Max was a little naughty with his feign, but DR was impatient and should never have assumed a lane was just going to open up for him. Max moved a few inches and DR assumed that move would keep going to open up a lane.

    1. “So Max was a little naughty with his feign, but DR was impatient and should never have assumed a lane was just going to open up for him.”

      Thank you for this summary, couldn’t agree more.

    2. The lane WAS ALREADY open.
      Verstappen moved under braking and that was the reason of the crash.

      Verstappen’s supporters are delusional. Completely.
      The guy is crashing all the time, but somehow, it’s never his fault. He pulled the same move a number of times in the past and the guy behind had always to take avoiding action. This time there was no space for that.

      It is fault.

      1. Verstappen’s supporters are delusional. Completely. – absolutely
        Thank you for this summary – hhhhhhh, summary of what has happened inside their heads maybe. Delusional. Completely. The mind bending that’s going on inside their nationalistic heads.

        1. Agreeing with the Stewards here is mind-bending, delutional, and oh NEDEERRLLLAANNNDDDDD, WWIIILLLHHEEMMUUUSSSSSS!

          (And no by saying that I’m not saying VES hasn’t had a terrible streak of races)

  20. Yeah the move was minimal. Prob racing incident. We’ll see how Spain goes.

  21. Ricciardo has shown hos card quite dramaticly after the incident… ofcourse it’s all about Verstappen.. cause it is always about Verstappen. FIA decided raceincident, RBR decided both to blame.

    Post race interview Ricciardo said “let the fans decide”
    That was a smart move, just like Hamilton after Bahrain… while the FIA decides 50/50 the drivers are quick to put the blame on the other driver.. in this case Verstappen publicly gets the blame. Though the one-defensive move rule, does leave enough grey areas and Verstappen has bene playing with that since he came in F1… never got punished though.
    So it the FIA mad, the rule to grey or do fans just need a scapegoat.. I think the latter.

    About Ricciardo claming he was faster:
    Lap 1-6, Ver faster 4 against 2 laps overtaking Ricciardo
    Lap 7-22, Ver faster 16 against 4 laps
    Lap 23-34, Ric faster 8 against 4 laps
    Lap 35-36 Ric faster 2 against 2 laps overtaking Ver
    Lap 37-39, Ric ahead 1,5 sec before pitstop, 1,5 sec behind after pitstop

    Total Ver faster 22 against 17 laps.

    The period Ricciardo was potentially faster was the period Hamilton came in front of Verstappen (lap 22).
    Verstappen suffered form dirty air and lost pace, Mercedes being to fast on the straight there was no DRS.
    Ricciardo came closer and had 6 times DRS in 12 laps… helped with some tow.
    During the pitstop Verstappen was faster again.

    Being overtaken twice what was Ricciardo actually thinking when he said this…?
    If your team mates gets traffic he should give up his place..?

  22. To this day I’m still angry over this incident…

Comments are closed.