Lance Stroll doubles down Regarding the incident in which he pointed his finger at everyone but himself after colliding with another person while driving in the safety car.
The Aston Martin driver collided with the back of Daniel Ricciardo’s RB during the Chinese Grand Prix while preparing to restart after the safety car, but Stroll says it was no one’s fault but his own.
Lance Stroll collides with Daniel Ricciardo during safety car
The field congested just before the safety car period ended, with Max Verstappen commanding the pace and preparing to restart from the hairpin in order to return to green flag conditions.
However, Stroll entered the hairpin and accelerated when another driver hit the brakes, causing the Canadian driver to crash into the rear of Daniel Ricciardo’s RB, lifting the car completely off the ground. I collided with him with such force. The Australian also hit the rear of Oscar Piastri’s McLaren, which was in front of him.
It was an astronomical mistake, and it happened when the drivers were supposed to be cautious and ready to restart as soon as the lead driver decided to fire.
However, how an incident can be ignored depends on the perpetrator’s reaction. Look at how Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz defused the tension of their sprint race battle when speaking to the media afterwards. It was a master class in diplomacy, instantly defusing what could have been a problem.
But Stroll did not take a diplomatic approach. The Canadian driver instead decided to put the blame on Ricciardo and the car in front of him, calling the Australian an “idiot” over the team radio before jumping into the pits. The incident led to the stewards giving Stroll a 10-second penalty for causing the collision and two penalty points on his superlicense.
Speaking to the media afterwards, Stroll explained the incident from his own perspective, blaming it on the concertina effect of the car slowing down, rather than any aspects of his driving or his own reactions.
“Concertina effect. Someone braked at the front of the group. I don’t know who it was, but then everyone stopped,” he said.
“The car in front of me stopped from 60 degrees to zero and boomed. A really stupid incident.”
Stroll, who was heard calling the penalty “stupid” over the team radio, said it was “for the fact that I hit my opponent and then someone hit the brakes and caused a concertina. I don’t know who it was, but I got a penalty.” He was given a penalty as a result of hitting Ricciardo.
“But not everything was normal, I just bumped into his back.
“I wish the stewards had given it a little more consideration because there was a really weird concertina effect. That’s the reality.”
Daniel Ricciardo was not in the mood to talk about the accident when he spoke to the media at Penn after retiring. His RB was heavily damaged in the collision and was unable to finish the race competitively.
“I gradually started to calm down, but then I was told what Lance thought about the incident. And apparently, I was stupid and it was my fault,” Ricardo said.
“It got my blood boiling because it was sunny as in the middle of the day and the safety car was also in. So the only thing you have to do is watch the car in front of you – no matter what the leaders do. You can’t predict what’s going to happen, and you can’t assume that we’re going to go into turn 14 because it doesn’t start until the race control line…I’m trying not to say what I want to say, but…shit.
“I’m still being nice to you, but if that’s what he thinks, then I…” *shrug*
“Look, I’m not going to say any more because maybe within an hour of him seeing it, he might take some responsibility.
“But if he doesn’t, I can’t help him and I can’t help anyone here. It’s very frustrating.
“Obviously, incidents in races happen… things happen, but behind the safety car, it should never happen.”
Daniel Ricciardo: “Lance Stroll wasn’t even looking at me”
An in-flight replay of the incident showed Stroll turning to the right at the moment the group slowed down entering the hairpin, which Stroll said meant the RB was barely moving in front of him. It means that you were completely unaware of the fact.
Ricciardo said the simplest task of paying attention to the car in front of him was not something Stroll did.
“My blood boils because I was looking at his cabin, for example, trying to see it from his perspective again and try to get some kind of understanding,” he said.
“As soon as I started to brake, I could see his helmet turn right and look at the apex of Turn 14. He wasn’t even looking at me, but when I turned around he saw me. I was behind.”
“So I don’t know what he’s doing or where his head is at, but all you have to do in that situation is worry about me. And he obviously That wasn’t the case.
“Let’s see what he says in the media. But if he comes after me… yeah, I’ll say more.”
It would be very interesting to know what Ricciardo means by “I want to say more.” Stroll ultimately chose not to take action on the incident, choosing instead to direct the blame at the car in front of him. He had the audacity to slow down when he wasn’t ready.
Few drivers have the admirable quality of taking responsibility for their mistakes. Michael Schumacher’s failure to deliver during his tenure was particularly uninspiring, but Schumacher had the benefit of his undoubted talent when he didn’t raise his hand after an incident. I was able to hide in the shadows.
This is not entirely the case with Stroll, who is a driver who would probably benefit from a more mature approach when it comes to fault. After all, this is someone whose team bosses have acknowledged that the entire Aston Martin project is built around him, and who has the usual team skills such as driver speed, reliability, maturity and likeability. concerns simply do not apply in the same way. Let’s take a walk like them to a driver whose father bought a car manufacturer and can’t afford a ride.
Mike Clack: I wish the stewards had looked into this more closely.
Aston Martin signed Fernando Alonso to a new long-term deal last week, although Stroll’s own future, who has a rolling contract to race for the team owned by his billionaire father, is still uncertain. Mike Clack said it’s definitely a possibility. If he wants to go there, a Canadian driver will come.
“I know that Aston Martin is home to Reims,” Clack said ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix.
“We know that and the whole project was always around him.
“So we ask for continuity. We always think that’s very important. So we’ll see in the next few weeks.”
Clack also avoided making statements that could be seen as blaming Stroll for not staying behind the safety car to avoid colliding with other cars, instead pointing to the fact that the driver crashed because the car had slowed down. I decided to do it.
“At the end of the day, I think it was a chain reaction,” he said.
“I think everyone was a little hung up on it. I think it started earlier, and I wish they’d looked at that. [by the stewards] Let me explain in a little more detail.
“We tried to talk about it, but the verdict was quickly that Lance was responsible.
“It’s frustrating. On the other hand, I think everyone’s human and everyone’s trying to do their best. And it’s frustrating. But the best way is if you have a fast car and , even if you run away, Max has no such penalty…”
It’s understandable that Kulak would take a defensive stance against his drivers, that’s his job, but one driver got over before it became clear that his faithful defense had become propaganda. The amount of bad luck and situational events that can occur is limited. It’s safe to assume that Clack, an incredibly fit and experienced racer, wouldn’t have believed these words if Stroll hadn’t been the boss’ son.
Lance Stroll: Everybody just hit the brakes.
With such job security and a team boss who knows which side of his bread is buttered, what motivates Stroll to strive to improve? No one is asking, so why should he be responsible? When Ricciardo hints that he wants to say more, this is probably what he means. After all, if Stroll were to hit another driver in such a situation, there would be even more concern for the other driver.
To be fair to Stroll, he subsequently refuted the criticism against Ricciardo in the media pen, instead gesturing that the blame for the clash lay with the “field” in general.
“If someone doesn’t brake in front of me, [there would have been] There was no concertina effect and there would have been no problem. “I think it was one of those really stupid incidents,” he said.
“It was like we were just about to get to 60 degrees and we started to slow down a little bit towards that. And then all of a sudden it was like zero and we went a little bit in the wrong place too. I was like his gearbox. I was on board and ready to start again. I was just very unlucky, but until then I had been running a good race.
“I don’t think that’s the case. [Ricciardo], it’s everyone. Everyone slammed on their brakes and he was the guy in front of me. I don’t think he hit the brakes, I think it was the bellows effect. ”
But Ricciardo was keen to point out what happened under the safety car, given that Stroll hit the RB so hard that it lifted him off the ground.
“We saw it lock up in turn 14, but we don’t really know when it’s going to happen.” [the leader is] I’m going,” he said.
“Even if he gets stuck in turn 14, that doesn’t mean he’s going to get out of turn 14. Maybe he gets stuck again in turn 15 or 16, so obviously he has to try to stay close to the car in front of him. But you won’t hit the car in front of you, right?
“Yes, we all gathered, naturally, this is a hairpin. But it’s not [Stroll] Just hit me and gave me a blowout or something. He got under my car.
“He hit me so fast, you can’t deny that. He just tapped me, and it’s not bad luck. He was underneath me.
“He probably impacted our two races. Hopefully when he gets here, [to the media pen]he takes some responsibility.
“But if he were to be strict with me…I wouldn’t have to be that hard, yeah…”
“Even if things settle down, if he still has a temper today, he needs to learn from this.
“We’ve all made mistakes. I’ve done it, we’ve all done it, but it was he who ruined not only his race, but my race as well. As long as he understands that, that’s the biggest thing we can take away.”
Time for some self-reflection, Lance Stroll…
Stroll’s status as a crony hire is to some degree given the very strange dynamic at Aston Martin, which continues to actively hold back on one of its drivers, as evidenced by Alonso’s constant dominance. The only areas that can bring honor and dignity to the world are: Present yourself as a thoughtful, intelligent, and mature racing driver.
His steely determination to get back into the cockpit after injuring his wrist last season went a long way in projecting himself in such a light. And considering how difficult it is to come to terms with the talent Alonso displays, you have to feel for the youngster. Riding in the same car week after week.
But Stroll’s further strengthening of his untenable position of protesting his innocence, and instead blaming the amorphous “them” in front of him, is not a shining example of maturity, but rather It shows impatient childishness. This is an attitude that many people are familiar with. It’s the family working for the family business.
Everyone makes mistakes, so admitting this won’t hurt Stroll’s reputation, but quite the opposite. After all, there is nothing to be gained by Stroll adopting the doubled position as he has already been penalized – certainly no signs of ‘learning from this’ as Ricciardo had hoped.
When your driving infuriated the very easy-going and rational Ricciardo, when Oscar Piastri smirked about your mistake and said, “Everyone else didn’t crash,” and when the stewards decided that your driving was justified. When we quickly came to a verdict that . It’s a punishment, a time for introspection.
Damages are incurred and penalties are served, but there is no no-claims bonus to be retained here. Let’s turn the negative flow into a positive flow. Raise your hands, admit your mistake, and say you’re sorry. Why is it so difficult?
Read next: Forget about missed victories, Lando Norris has already proven he’s one of F1’s best
