Lewis Hamilton’s heavy crash in Q3 in Austria was cheered on by Dutch fans, while Max Verstappen was the subject of boos in the previous race at Silverstone, as well as cheers for his qualifying spin.
Hamilton himself described the cheering in Austria as “shocking”, while acknowledging that what happened at Silverstone was also a wrong episode.
Like other riders, Daniel Ricciardo agreed that passionate fans are good for the sport, but cautioned that they can cross the line.
“I think an accident is in a different kind of territory when … Surely the rivalries are very strong,” said the Australian when Motorsport.com asked him about the Hamilton accident. “And the one between Lewis and Max, especially last year, was fantastic.”
“It’s like in any sport, there are always pros and cons. So I think the battles on the track, the cheering, are good things. But I’ve never been a fan of boos, so I don’t tolerate them. But of course there are those. that you like and those you don’t necessarily cheer for. “
“But I think in case of an accident you would never want to see it. I’m not saying that you have to check the stands and people’s emotions. As for the rivalries, it is obvious that these make our sport exciting and that the fans take sides. their pilots. It’s nice to see it. “
“But there is a time and a place where you would never want to see it. Even when we are not directly involved. We are human beings and I think sometimes people should remember that.”
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W13 crashes
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Ricciardo suggested that people can get caught up in the moment: “It’s easy when you’re in a crowd all day and obviously you’ve had a few beers. If the guy next to you does that, then you think it’s right that you can. “.
“But it seems to me that there comes an age where you become mature and realize that those things you did at 15 you shouldn’t be doing them in your 30s. So you should be a little more reasonable.”
George Russell echoed Ricciardo’s suggestion that fans can forget that pilots are human too.
“I think when you’re on the other side of the fence, whether it’s football or motorsport, sometimes people forget that there’s a human being on the other side,” Russell said when asked about the rejoicing after teammate’s accident.
“We are all human: drivers, engineers, media, fans. And there is no justification for whistling anyone, for any reason or for cheering.”
“We are all risking our lives here, and we know all the dangers that motorsport entails. When you go at 300 km / h and someone urges you to crash into a wall … I don’t know how to classify it.”
Lando Norris also disputed the exultation over Hamilton’s accident.
“It’s not something you like to see, especially when it’s a pretty serious accident,” said the McLaren driver. “I don’t know what can be done about it. It’s not a nice thing, of course, we would never want to see it. But there are so many things in life and that’s what the fans do sometimes.”
#Ricciardo #Cheering #accident #acceptable