F1 News: Lance Stroll Responds to Daniel Ricciardo Criticism After Chinese GP Crash

Alex Harrington | Apr 21, 2024

Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll leaves the track after the Formula 1 Lenovo United States Grand / Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman /

At the Chinese Grand Prix, an on-track incident involving Lance Stroll and Daniel Ricciardo escalated tensions, with Stroll responding to sharp criticism from Ricciardo. The altercation led to Ricciardo's retirement from the race.

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The Chinese Grand Prix was marred by a chain collision incident immediately following a safety car period. Daniel Ricciardo, driving for McLaren, was forced to retire early after a crash involving Aston Martin's Lance Stroll. The incident started when Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin triggered a concertina effect during the race restart, leading to a sequence of collisions.

Ricciardo, visibly frustrated, openly criticized Stroll for his lack of awareness during the incident. He voiced his dissatisfaction with how Stroll managed the situation, particularly as it resulted in significant damage to Ricciardo’s RB machinery and dashed his hopes for his first points finish of the 2024 season. 

"Apparently I am the idiot here and it was my fault. I'm really trying my best not to say what I want to say, but f*** the guy," Ricciardo stated in a heated moment post-incident, as quoted by Motorsport-total.com. "If he watches it again in an hour he will blame himself. But if not, I can't help him."

Adding to his remarks, Ricciardo highlighted the impracticality of the crash, especially under a safety car:

"Sure, these things happen, but this should never happen behind the safety car." He explained the sequence leading up to the crash, blaming it partly on Stroll's late reaction:

"You can see that, the moment he brakes, he's immediately looking at the apex of turn 14. He is not looking at me at all and when he does look, he is already on my tail. Yes, we're all stuck, but it's a hairpin. It's not like he pushed me and gave me a puncture. He just drove under my car."

In response, Stroll justified his actions by pointing to the unavoidable nature of the incident which saw multiple drivers braking abruptly.

"There was like a concertina effect. I had Ricciardo stopping right in front of me and then I had nowhere to go even when I saw him brake like that. So I don't think it was just him. I think it's probably someone at the front with a brake and then a natural concertina effect," Stroll explained.

Asked by Viaplay whether he was looking elsewhere and not at the Australian's car in front of him, he answered:

“No, not really. I was kind of looking ahead, but it was just a concertina effect.”