Ricciardo: "Seb was probably a little too excited"
Daniel Ricciardo has given his views on the incident between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, won by the Australian. And to say the least, he came to the Mercedes driver's defense.
This 20th lap of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix will continue to be talked about in the coming days. This collision between the two main protagonists of the world drivers’ championship, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, was one of the standout moments of the race and this start of the season.
The winner of the Grand Prix in Baku, Daniel Ricciardo, also shared his thoughts on this collision and the Red Bull driver tends to side with Hamilton, highlighting Vettel’s sometimes difficult character: « Seb probably doesn’t always think before he acts. He’s surely driven by passion and the hunger to win. Sometimes, he lets himself go. I have a lot of respect for Seb for his streak of madness and his love for the sport, which transforms into passion and sometimes aggressiveness. I respect and love that. »
But nevertheless, for the winner of the day, Vettel went a bit too far this time: « Whether Lewis slowed down or not, he absolutely has the right to dictate the pace. He is the leader and it was too early for him to speed up. You don’t start racing again from turn 15. Seb was probably a little too excited. »
This “excitement” often translates into aggressive remarks on the German driver’s radio, as Ricciardo points out: « But you know, from time to time he goes completely crazy on the radio. It’s probably… how to say… on a whim! But there’s surely a better word to define that… » concluded the amused Australian.
On the other hand, Martin Brundle, the former driver turned commentator, stated that the stewards’ decision was the right one and that the Ferrari driver did not deserve to be excluded for his maneuver: Overall, the stewards made the right decisions. I would not have excluded or banned Vettel. We see much worse things that go without consequence. If Vettel had taken out Hamilton, as a steward, I would have excluded him as well. This is a fight for the world championship at 220 m/h. It has nothing to do with driving on open roads.
The debate is therefore not about to stop.
