Lance Stroll’s clumsy excuse for crashing into the back of Daniel Ricciardo that knocked the Australian out of the Chinese Grand Prix
- Lance Stroll blamed the collision on the ‘concertina effect’
- Aston Martin driver says he had nowhere to go
- F1 expert calls for Stroll to be shown the door
Lance Stroll has responded to harsh criticism from Daniel Ricciardo over the on-track incident that led to the Australian withdrawing from the Chinese Grand Prix, as an F1 expert called for the Aston Martin driver to be sacked.
One of the biggest talking points of the Chinese GP was the collision between Ricciardo and Stroll at the Turn 14 hairpin during a safety car restart.
The rear of Ricciardo’s RB car was hit by Stroll, causing significant damage to the Australian’s rear wing.
Ricciardo, 34, was on course to compete for the points finish, but had to retire following the collision.
The Australian was visibly annoyed that Stroll had blamed him for the incident in a post-race interview.
Daniel Ricciardo wasn’t happy with Lance Stroll after collision at Chinese Grand Prix
“I slowly started to calm down and then I was told what Lance thought about the incident,” Ricciardo said.
“And apparently I’m an idiot.” And it was my fault.
“So that made my blood boil. Because it’s clear as day – and it’s also behind a safety car.
Stroll justified his actions during the race, attributing the “strange” incident to the “concertina effect.”
“I think it was a concertina effect in the hairpin,” he told Formula1.com.
“Someone braked in front and then I think it was like everyone braked.” The car in front of me stopped right in front of me, I had nowhere to go and, yeah, it was just one of those really weird racing incidents.
The stewards handed Stroll a 10-second penalty for the incident.
As for whether he would contest the penalty, the Canadian replied: “I don’t understand.
Ricciardo’s Chinese Grand Prix was spoiled when Stroll went behind his back
Stroll blamed the collision on the ‘concertina effect’, calling the incident ‘bizarre’
“It was just one of those concertina racing incidents, and I guess it was because I hit the guy in front of me that I got the penalty, but I think someone caused this in front of him.” Someone braked and, yes, it’s weird.
Stroll has not only attracted criticism from racing fans and Ricciardo, with Danish driver turned Formula 1 pundit Jason Watt calling for the driver to be sacked by Aston Martin.
“Fire him immediately,” Watt wrote.
Watt also believes that Fernando Alonso currently has the weakest teammate in the F1 field with Stroll.
“(Alonso) is driving alongside the worst driver in the field, in my eyes,” Watt said.
