Daniel Ricciardo criticises Bottas after Bahrain
- Published on 13 Apr 2018 11:10
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- By: Rob Veenstra
Daniel Ricciardo may be staking a claim on the seat alongside Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes for 2019. The Australian is on the market and not yet committing to a new Red Bull deal. So it's notable that he was among those who criticised Hamilton's current teammate Valtteri Bottas for not mounting a tougher challenge to win in Bahrain a week ago.
Ricciardo told reporters in China that he caught the end of the Bahrain grand prix on his hotel television after retiring from the race. "I didn't care if Seb or Valtteri won," he said. "But when I watch a race, I hope something exciting happens. So I was saying 'Go, go, go!' to Valtteri. Attack him! That's what the fans want to see. But it didn't happen," Ricciardo is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.
"I wouldn't have been happy with second. Especially if the win is within reach like that. It's not in me," he added.
When asked about that sort of criticism of his Bahrain tactics, Bottas said it doesn't bother him. "It's not hard for me to handle," said the Finn. "I don't care about comments from the outside. I've analysed everything and if I was in the same situation again, I wouldn't have done anything else. That's why I can live with it and people can say what they want." (GMM)
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Replies (13)
Login to replyKyalamiKid
Posts: 146
Bottas did exactly what Mercedes signed, and pays him for - become 2nd...
reg
Posts: 162
The only people who know whether Bottas could have pushed any harder are Bottas and his engineers. None of whom have said a word!
I suspect he was on the limit with his tyres too! I haven't seen the comparative lap-times for him and Seb over say the last 15 laps, but I reckon Seb just kept a gap between himself and the Merc and knew Bottas could never close it up enough.
reg
Posts: 162
When you have won as many races as Seb has, often in not the fastest car, he has shown time and time again, that when he's in front that he knows how to manage his car superbly!.
That is one of the things that makes him so special.
This and the fact that when beaten he knows how to keep his mouth shut, smile and not whinge to the cameras, unlike someone else we can all name!
KyalamiKid
Posts: 146
Keep his mouth shut and not whinge?? Are we talking about the same Vettel here?
Rindtchamp
Posts: 304
Merc signed Bottas to be a good little #2 and not to push goldenboy.
I'm sure 2nd for him and Toto is fine.
of course for the rest of us, it sucks and once again it shows how poor his racecraft is and that's he doesn't have the passion and grit to be a champion.
mcbhargav
Posts: 1,332
Poor RIC trying to woo Merc.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
First, Daniel didn't criticize Valteri. Second, Daniel didn't say anything we didn't already know--he would have definitely attempted a move.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
But Bottas did have a go at Vettel? Or did I see an entirely different race to everyone else? Its not like Bottas did a bad just, he narrowed down the gap quite significantly in a pretty short time. Vettel were just excelling, and thats all there is to it.
KyalamiKid
Posts: 146
Cars number 3, 33 and 44 would have pushed Vettel a lot harder on those worn tyres.
In the end of the day, yeah Bottas did a great job, took home 18 points, they will go a long way in the (constructors) championship battle. Personally I like to see battles on the track though.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Number 3 and 33 seem to currently lack the pace to even properly pursuit Vettel, so they are sorta out. 44? Most likely. But we dont know for sure, since that didnt happen. But it does show just how good Vettel is. Bottas isnt bad, he just isnt great, and even in the best car of the grid he cant catch the Terminator. We did get a very intense chase with a few stabs from Bottas, Im pleased with that.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
@Calle I think people are referring specifically to the aborted lunge at the end of the straight. Basically he had a look at Vettel but didn't lunge and he totally could have. There was a high probability of locking up, overshooting the turn, and also a small chance of contact (since Sebastian knew he was there), but Bottas didn't attempt it. That's it. It would have been very ballsy, but no more ballsy than the move regularly pulled by Lewis, Sebastian, Daniel, Max, or Fernando.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Yeah, Im aware, but I still say that counts as an attempt. Im certain you noticed how he absolutely blasted away at the straights? Bottas is too coolheaded to make a silly move like that, and only really Ricciardo seem to know how to make one stick. But again, there is a clear difference in level. If it was Hamilton, Vettel would likely've been done for. But it wasnt. And unfortunately for Bottas, he had the Terminator in front of him.
KyalamiKid
Posts: 146
@calle I dont think 3 and 33 lack the pace, they ve lacked the luck and reliability in the first 2. Come Sunday, I think a double podium for RBR is possible, granted, if luck is on their side. They certainly have the race pace...
How cool would a 6 car battle for the podium spots be...
One more Scotch before early rise for FP3 and Quali