Lance Stroll receives 2 penalty points after crashing into Daniel Ricciardo in China

During the Chinese Grand Prix, Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) was penalized following an incident involving the Canadian driver and Daniel Ricciardo’s Racing Bulls. In addition to receiving a 10-second penalty on the track, he also has 2 penalty points added to his total quota. Lance Stroll now has 7 points out of the 12 allowed before a race suspension (Penalties counted over the preceding 12 months).

The official statement from the FIA, dated April 21, 2024 at 6:54 pm, explained that the Aston Martin driver violated Appendix L, Chapter IV, Article 2 d) of the FIA International Sporting Code. « The stewards reviewed the data from the positioning/marshalling system, videos, timing data, and onboard video evidence and determined that car 18 collided with car 3 at turn 14. The cars were all driving slowly to prepare for the resumption of the race towards the end of a safety car period. The car in front of car 18 slowed down to take the turn and also to try to keep up with the pace of the cars ahead. Car 18 then collided with car 3. » elaborates on the FIA statement.

The cars were circulating slowly to prepare for the restart of the race at the end of a safety car period. Max Verstappen, the leader, slowed down significantly to create a gap with the safety car and most of the drivers behind were surprised, causing a chain reaction. First, Fernando Alonso locked up his tires, then Daniel Ricciardo braked hard to slow down more than expected, and Lance Stroll failed to brake enough. He thus “lifted” the rear of the Racing Bulls with his front wing, destroying Ricciardo’s car’s diffuser and ruining the Australian’s race.

💥 FIASCO A LA RELANCE !

Suite au problème moteur de Bottas, la relance est un véritable fiasco !

Les deux VCARB ont été endommagées et une nouvelle voiture de sécurité est déployée ! 🍿#ChineseGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/UrkHkNg1H3

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) April 21, 2024

The car in front of car 18 slowed down to take the turn and align with the pace of the group of cars in front of it. However, car 18 did not anticipate the pace of the cars in front of it, especially car 3, and did not brake in time, leading to the collision. The stewards concluded that car 18 was mainly responsible for the incident, which forced car 3 to retire from the race. By better anticipating the situation and adjusting its speed accordingly, the collision could have been avoided.

We concluded that car 18 should have anticipated the pace of the cars in front of it, especially car 3, and should have prepared to brake accordingly. If this had been done, it would have avoided the collision. Therefore, car 18 was mainly responsible for the collision that ultimately led car 3 to withdraw from the race. »

Lance Stroll does not apologize, Daniel Ricciardo annoyed

In the interview area, Canal+ also interviewed the Australian during the race, after his retirement. Showing the images of the accident and Lance Stroll’s radio, Daniel Ricciardo got upset.

« He said it was my fault? » wonders the Racing Bulls pilot. « I was starting to calm down but now it’s starting to… to annoy me. I watched his onboard images and he doesn’t even look at me. We start braking, his head looks towards the turn, then he accelerates or releases the brakes and hits me directly. It annoys me. »

On his side, the manager, according to the FIA, did not comment further on the incident, not apologizing and attributing the fault to the accordion effect.

« There is someone in front who braked, I don’t know who it is, but then it’s an accordion effect and everyone braked and I was the last one who touched Ricciardo. It’s just an accordion effect. We were certainly having a good race, so that’s how it is,” he commented.