Daniel Ricciardo felt “pretty pissed” following Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix after missing out on a podium finish following a late-race battle with Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, eventually finishing fourth.
Ricciardo started fourth in Mexico, but was pitted at the end of the first lap in response to a safety car period, leaving him on a two-stop strategy for the race.
The Australian was able to make up chunks of time late on when running on softs as the drivers ahead tried to make their mediums last to the checkered flag, allowing him to close on Verstappen and Vettel in the fight for third.
After seeing Verstappen go off-track and stay ahead in third, Ricciardo tried passing Vettel, only for Vettel to defend aggressively and the two to rub wheels.
In the end, Ricciardo crossed the line fifth, but was promoted to fourth after Verstappen was handed a five-second time penalty for going off-track.
“I’m still pretty pissed to be honest, for a few reasons,” Ricciardo told NBCSN after the race.
“First lap, Hamilton defended and cut the chicane and still held lead. How and why, that shouldn’t be allowed. You make a mistake, you can lose so many positions – and he gets it first. He deserved a penalty.
“When I saw Max do it, he should get a penalty, they got that one right.”
Ricciardo also believes that Vettel breached the recently-introduced regulation regarding moving under braking.
“I had a word with him at the end. I saw he was covering, before braking he moved,” Ricciardo said.
“I saw the gap and went for it. Track opens up a little bit. I committed and he’s moved again. The apex is so tight and we slid into each other.
“That’s moving under braking. Everyone is complaining Max is doing it, and Seb did it with him today.”
Ricciardo was asked if Vettel would take the angle that he was defending from Verstappen: “I want to swear but I won’t. I will say that’s BS to put it politely.
“You can’t attack by defending if you know what I mean. I knew the thing that made it more difficult was Seb had DRS on Max. It was hard to fight on Seb. They were fighting obviously.
“I’m sad to not be on the podium but the last 10 laps were awesome, don’t get me wrong. The first part was a bit more static, but the end came alive. I wish I was up on that stadium.”
UPDATE 18:18 ET – Ricciardo and Vettel called to stewards
Ricciardo and Vettel have both been called before the FIA stewards in Mexico over their on-track clash. Vettel is accused of “driving dangerously or erratically between Turns 4 and 5.”
