Still differences of opinion at Red Bull after the Baku collision

One of the most anticipated press briefings of the weekend in Barcelona was, of course, Red Bull’s, to follow up on the on-track collision during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Daniel Ricciardo was the first to enter the media arena and didn’t hide much of his opinion when asked how long it took him to read Red Bull’s new code of conduct: « Oh, I think they gave it to someone else. I don’t need it. »

The Australian explained that there had been many internal discussions, not necessarily just at the drivers’ level. While the main actors in this clash are obviously the men on the track, those on the sidelines also had their share of responsibility: « We looked at what we, the drivers, could have done better, what the team, namely Christian (Horner) and the decision-makers, could have done better, what the engineers could have done better. There were big discussions. It was an accumulation of small things, a succession of small things that culminated in this problem. So we had to address them all. »

With hindsight on the unfolding of the race, Daniel Ricciardo acknowledges that this collision seemed inevitable: « I can’t say that I was particularly surprised. » From Mr. Smile’s point of view, the conclusion was that if in the future, a car found itself blocked by its teammate while it was clearly faster, then the pit wall would draw the consequence and inform the drivers, namely a position swap for the good of the team: « There is no guarantee but it’s one of the things that was discussed. »

If he had to acknowledge a mistake on his part, he would say that he didn’t complain enough on the radio that he could go faster than his teammate because a part of him wanted to find an opening again, as he had managed to do earlier in the race: « I was having fun. I wanted to go for it and not be assisted. »

On the contrary, Max Verstappen seemed much more detached from the situation and reiterated that there would be no team orders: « They might tell us to calm down a bit and to follow each other for a while. The team still has full confidence in us. »

Pressed by the media about the 50/50 responsibility declared by the team right after Baku, the Dutchman simply replied: “I don’t know, I don’t care.” This shows how little he felt responsible for the collision and that if it were to happen again, he would certainly have few hesitations about his decision. But obviously, officially, everything will be done to prevent a new collision from happening in the future.

In this context, Daniel Ricciardo’s embarrassed no comment when asked if it would impact his future with the team says much more than lengthy media diatribes…

From our special correspondent in Barcelona.