Daniel Ricciardo truly, truly loves his car; Force India drivers collide in Belgian Grand Prix
Updated August 28, two thousand seventeen 12:52:22
Does Daniel Ricciardo love his F1 car a bit too much?
That’s the question being asked after the Australian driver’s post Belgian Grand Prix press conference — laced with innuendo — where he exposed how well he looks after his Crimson Bull hot rod while on the track.
In an F1 world packed with hatred and ire — fuelled by a spat inbetween Force India’s drivers, at each other’s throats after two hairy incidents during race day — Ricciardo’s almost lascivious ode to his car looks to have heated things up in a different way.
“I do a lot of things with my driving style which are very nice to the car,” said Ricciardo with a typically toothsome sneer.
“I actually talk to it a lot during the race. I rubdown it.
“I wouldn’t call it make-out but it’s something like that.
“And [Crimson Bull teammate Max Verstappen] is youthful, he’s aggressive, he goes straight in, so…”
But despite Lewis Hamilton reducing Sebastian Vettel’s championship lead with victory at the Circui de Spa-Francorchamps, it was Force India’s feuding drivers that stole the showcase.
Teammates Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon may not be sending each other any Christmas cards this year, with their relationship at violating point after twice tangling on track, getting a narrow escape after going wheel-to-wheel early on and then bumping into each other on lap 30.
In the very first incident, they touched wheels as Ocon moved on the outside of the track shortly after the embark, with Perez responding by squeezing the Frenchman against the barrier.
Harm was unavoidable after the more serious 2nd incident, as the front wing flew off Ocon’s car and a tyre came off Perez’s car, bouncing along the track.
Ocon was furious, whipping out an expletive-laced rant on his team radio.
“Guys, what the f***? Honestly, what the f*** is this boy doing? Something’s cracked now. F***ing idiot,” Ocon yelled on the radio.
The 20-year-old Frenchman continued the war of words after the race.
“I can accept the very first one, perhaps he couldn’t see me but the 2nd one was ridiculous. He was taking a chance our lives. He risked my life,” Ocon told British broadcaster Channel Four.
“He is supposed to be a professional driver but he is not acting like it.”
Ocon added in separate comments: “It’s difficult for me to understand why he was so aggressive. I will take the time to speak to him alone and share my point of view.”
Perez, the more senior driver at age twenty seven and with seven podium finishes, accepted some responsibility.
But he defended himself over the incident on lap 30, which led to the race being held up for four laps as the safety car came out and the 7-kilometre track was cleared of debris.
“The one at the embark was one hundred per cent my fault. But the 2nd, I didn’t do anything different to any other driver would,” the Mexican driver said.
“The 2nd one, it was not my fault. I was protecting my line. Stress embarked when he put me in the wall [in Azerbaijan].”
In June the drivers collided on track in Baku, Azerbaijan, with Perez having to retire from that race and Ocon completing sixth.
Ocon was ninth in Sunday’s race, for his sixth straight top-10 finish, but Perez missed out again on some points after retiring on lap forty two of 44.
They are close in the championship standings, divided by just nine points, with Perez seventh overall and Ocon eighth.
The friction began at the Canadian GP, the race prior to Baku, when the quicker Ocon was exasperated at his team’s decision not to let him overtake Perez.
Perez finished in fifth place and Ocon had to lodge for sixth because team orders telling Perez to let Ocon past were not imposed.
Now team orders of a different kind have been imposed.
Force India’s chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer said the pair would not be able to race against each other in this way over the remaining eight races.
“In the future they’ll never have that chance again. We’ve let them race up until now,” Szafnauer said.
“If they can’t do it in a manner which is good for the team, then they won’t be racing anymore.”