Interlagos was not the Sunday Daniel Ricciardo was hoping for, especially due to the episode that involved him during the first lap, which essentially put an end to his race.
The Australian’s car was in fact hit by a stray tire that flew off in the accident at the first corner between Alex Albon and Kevin Magnussen, which then fell right onto the AlphaTauri number 3, damaging the rear wing.
Both the driver and the team immediately realized the problem, which at that point created two possible scenarios communicated via radio: if the red flag had come out immediately, given the severity of the damage to the barriers, there would have been the possibility of stop in the pit lane and repair the car during the interruption. Otherwise, the Australian would have been forced to park his car inside the garage.
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Daniel Ricciardo, AlphaTauri
As the red flag was not displayed during the first lap, Ricciardo returned to the pits, then stopping during the second lap, as the AlphaTauri garage is located beyond the finish line. However, the severity of the damage to the barriers pushed the race direction to neutralize the race halfway through the second lap, or about forty seconds after Ricciardo’s return. When the other drivers returned to the pit lane, they entered the third lap, leaving the Australian from the Faenza team lapped and one lap behind.
The same fate also befell the other driver involved in the events of the first lap, Oscar Piastri, who despite himself had been hit on the rear by Kevin Magnussen’s car during the latter’s spin. As per procedure, the two compatriots were forced to restart from the pit lane instead of starting from the grid, being relegated by one lap compared to the other cars.
The FIA Sporting Regulations state: “All cars which were in their garage at the time of the suspension of the race will be placed at the end of the row of cars in the passing lane [dei box] in the order in which they arrived.”
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Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri AT04, Daniel Ricciardo, AlphaTauri AT04
“Such cars will be able to leave the pit lane when the race restarts, but will have to re-enter the pit lane when the Safety Car returns and will be able to restart the race when the last car has passed the pit exit after the restart. Each lap completed using the procedures will be counted as a race lap, as applicable.”
Compared to other episodes, in which the lapped drivers had the opportunity to exit early to catch up with their rivals, here the discriminating factor is that when the red flag was displayed, in fact both Ricciardo and Piastri were not still lapped, but they were in their respective garages. However, the AlphaTauri driver he suggested that the rule should be reviewed with “common sense”, as he believes he should have been counted in the same round as the rest of the group.
“We hoped there would be a red flag and we could get back into the race. We arrived at the pits. We heard there was a red flag. The team did a great job getting the car sorted out, so we’re ready to go. Then they tell me that Oscar and I are leaving one lap late. All the excitement of racing again is completely nullified.”
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Daniel Ricciardo, AlphaTauri AT04
“Not even one lap of the race was completed under the green flag. I don’t know how anyone can start the race with one lap less. It’s really frustrating. It’s obvious that the rules are a bit lame. I guess my reasoning is if 15 cars had our problem today, will they start 15 cars in the pit lane with one lap less and put five cars on the grid? No, they won’t.”
“So, in my opinion, they can use common sense and be a little more open-minded. I just wish we could compete, I wish they would let us participate in the race. This hurts a bit”, explained Ricciardo. After restarting from the pit lane, the Australian spent essentially the entire race behind his teammate Yuki Tsunoda in the hope that a Safety Car would allow him to double up and despite a potentially superior madman, the team chose to keep him behind the Japanese, in order to avoid Tsunoda ending up in the dirty air and damaging his tires.
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