Russian Grand Prix: Ricciardo Penalized, the Renault Imbroglio
The Russian race for the Renault F1 Team was marked by the penalty given to Daniel Ricciardo for his overtaking maneuver against his teammate Esteban Ocon.
Good overall result for the Renault drivers this Sunday in Sochi, with Daniel Ricciardo finishing in 5th place, and the 7th place for Esteban Ocon. But a major shadow looms over the event with the penalty given to the Australian driver.
In the first part of the race, Ocon even climbed to 4th place, just ahead of Ricciardo. But the second stint was more complicated. After stopping, and despite having fresh tires, the Frenchman found himself stuck behind Vettel. Ricciardo then caught up with his teammate after his pit stop.
The moment chosen by Renault to switch the positions of its two drivers.
At the end of the straight line, Ocon moved aside but arriving with too much speed, Ricciardo was unable to take the apex and cut corner 2, without going behind the polystyrene panels. Not complying with the race stewards’ instruction, the Australian driver received a 5-second penalty.
« It was the thing to do, it’s a turn that is identified as the right one to lose the least time possible. How the drivers do it now is up to them. » said Cyril Abiteboul, team principal of the team, on Canal +.
« The way the drivers do it is up to them » – Cyril Abiteboul, on the Ocon-Ricciardo position swap
Knowing he was penalized, Ricciardo increased his pace on his hard tires, creating a gap of more than 10 seconds over Charles Leclerc (6th) allowing him to retain his 5th place: « I made an excellent start and climbed to third place in the first corners before falling back to fifth place. The race then changed in nature when switching to hard tires. »
We had a good rhythm, but I made a mistake by overtaking Esteban in the second corner, which resulted in the time penalty. I locked the front brakes, so I take responsibility for that, but I was able to recover from this mistake and come back well.
« With hindsight, I’m rather happy with my day and the final result because we are taking big points. » indicated Renault driver #3 after the race.
A beautiful reaction praised by his team director: « I think it’s more Daniel who acknowledges that he didn’t handle it very well. I want to say that he accepted the consequences because he knew he had a 5-second penalty. »
« He posted extraordinary lap times with the hard tires, building a gap of more than 10 seconds in the end over Charles, against a Ferrari. Even if they are struggling, it still says something about the guy. »
« I locked the front brakes, so I take responsibility for that. But I was able to recover from this mistake and come back well » – Daniel Ricciardo
In the constructors’ standings, this good result allows Renault (still 5th) to come within 5 points of Racing Point. A great achievement for the French team!
