McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo has given a sarcastic thanks to Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.
Stroll was one of the antagonists of a Lap 1 collision that saw several cars taken out. Among those was Ricciardo’s collision, which was entirely the Aston Martin driver’s fault. It effectively ruined his race, as he failed to finish in the points.
Stroll collided with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who then hit Ricciardo, causing the Australian to blow up on the radio. He had spun around and taken significant damage to his car.
Ricciardo later learned that Stroll was responsible, and his words for him after the race oozed sarcasm.
“Thanks to Stroll,” Ricciardo said.
“A lot of us have many people to thank today – my thank you goes out to Stroll.
“Obviously, Turn 1 ruined our race. I had a lot of damage, it was so compromised. But we tried. Obviously, there was some chaos in front. My launch was good, and I kind of felt like I got through it.
“I think I was more or less on the exit of turn one and I was in second. There was one car in front and I was like ‘This is alright’. Then I saw Charles come into me, but I kind of knew it wasn’t him. It just felt like we were so deep in the corner and I felt like someone collected him and pushed him. I saw the replay. Obviously, Stroll went in and ruined both of our races,” the Australian explained.
“It’s a shame. These chaotic races provide so much opportunity, and it would have been nice going into the break to get something like that,” he concluded.
Congratulatory note
Ricciardo is justified in his comments, because it was a classic tale of what could have been. It also might have stung for him to see a Renault win the chaotic race, as Esteban Ocon picked up his first F1 win. Ricciardo, being a race winner himself, congratulated Ocon on his achievement.
“The first win is special,” Ricciardo said.
“The emotions are high and especially after a race like that, it’s crazy. A crazy feeling and obviously I’m happy for him, because this experience of winning a grand prix is something we dream of our whole lives.
“For him to have his first one now, he is living a dream come true,” he concluded.
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