Ricciardo outraged by grid penalty for Australian GP
- Published on 24 Mar 2018 05:25
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- By: Sam Gale
Daniel Ricciardo has expressed his outrage at the penalty he received for speeding under red flag conditions during the second practice session for the Australian Grand Prix. He had slowed by over 175kmph at certain segments of the track but admitted he had made an error.
The Australian was found to be marginally over the permitted speed allowed on his way back to the pit lane and did not pass the incident in question and many are calling for a more common sense ruling than a grid penalty that could potentially ruin his chances of a first home podium.
Speaking to Australian news outlet Channel 10, Ricciardo responded to the incident with: “Is it worth a grid penalty? I made a mistake, no doubt about it, but is that mistake worth a grid penalty in a practice session when no car’s on track, no-one’s upside down?
"I think common sense should have prevailed. It was a cable on the track. I didn't pass the incident. I think it’s s***house.Yesterday’s news has been pretty bitter for me. I’m p***ed to say the least.”
Ricciardo also added that he feels he's been robbed of a front row start. Red Bull boss Christian Horner also inputed to the argument, admitting that he had never seen the Australian that angry before, but understands the frustrating situation.
"It's tremendously frustrating," the Briton said. "He's marginally committed the offence but as soon as it's triggered and goes to the stewards, the stewards have nowhere to go. I don't think they wanted to give him the penalty they had to.
"It's hard enough for us to understand let alone explain it to the viewers and the fans. You'd have thought a fine or slap on the wrist could have been more appropriate. I've never seen him that angry before."
Sam Gale
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Replies (3)
Login to replyFatMike
Posts: 153
It's very early in the season for dumbass penalties....wonder what coming races have in store.
He probably broke a rule yes. But to influence quali and a race for a fp2 offense that wasn't even close of causing a dangerous situation that the rules try to prevent is just pathetic.
F1_IS_Dead
Posts: 123
A typically anti Red Bull decision applied by Mercedes/Ferrari controlled FIA. More will follow as the season continues.
f1dave
Posts: 782
After thirty years of being an F1 fan and not missed seeing all practice sessions, qualifying, and races live on tv for the last few years this is the kind of thing that has made me lose interest in F1. Stupid rules, too many tire choices decided by the tire maker months in advance, inconsistent rule enforcement, grid penalties for mechanical or electrical faults, children on the grid, street courses instead of race tracks, the list is endless. I won't give it up entirely but since the drivers championship is now decided by penalties and not racing it doesn't have the appeal it once did.