Ricciardo: No point in talking to unapologetic Stroll over F1 China clash
Stroll ran into Ricciardo under the safety car in Shanghai, which ended Ricciardo’s chance of scoring his first points of the 2024 season with RB.
Ricciardo was incensed by the incident, especially after it became clear that Stroll ducked responsibility for the incident and blamed drivers ahead, saying it made his “blood boil”.
The Australian revealed in Miami that he and Stroll still hadn’t cleared the air, but suggested there would be no point in doing so if Stroll still felt he was blameless for the contact.
“I would say no, because I feel it’s not going to go anywhere,” Ricciardo replied when asked if he wanted to speak with the Canadian.
“I can accept an apology, I’m not that much of an asshole. But the fact that there’s not even that… He clearly doesn’t think he did anything wrong. So I guess there’s not much to say.
“Obviously, if we sit next to each other in the drivers’ briefing and he wants to chat, I’m not going to ignore him or anything.”
Daniel Ricciardo, VCARB 01, Nico Hulkenberg, Haas VF-24, Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR24, and the remainder of the field
Daniel Ricciardo, VCARB 01, Nico Hulkenberg, Haas VF-24, Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR24, and the remainder of the field
Photo by: Mark Sutton
Ricciardo explained that in previous incidents he always made a point of clearing the air with his rivals, even if he wasn’t fully convinced he was in the wrong, just to avoid other drivers painting a target on his back.
“When I was younger, maybe I was more stubborn, didn’t always apologise for something that was my fault,” he said.
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“But the last few years, if I take someone out or even if it’s 50/50, I’ll still say: ‘Look, maybe I could have done better, so sorry for ruining our day.’ I’ll just text them clear the air a little bit.
“We’re all rivals, but you don’t want to have a target and you don’t need enemies. I’m not going as far as saying he is an enemy or anything. It’s an incident and we’ll move on.
“But you don’t obviously want to get what you’re giving. In that position, if I didn’t see him in person I would at least say: ‘Hey man sorry, I was looking somewhere else, or you braked really hard and caught me off guard.’ Whatever, just something.
“But yeah, it’s fine. Obviously we’re talking about it, but I have certainly moved on.”
Stroll ducked questions about the incident in Miami, and when asked if he attempted to reach out to Ricciardo, he said: “Not for this room. Those things are done behind closed doors.”