Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo was disgraced by the stewards decision to disqualify him from F1 Singapore GP qualifying and added that he is to speak with Alfa Romeo Racing’s Antonio Giovinazzi on their tussle.
Following the results in F1 Italian GP, Ricciardo and Renault were on a high and it showed in Singapore GP qualifying when both the Australian and Nico Hulkenberg made it inside the Top 10.
But luck turned otherwise for Ricciardo and that too by a mere 0.000001s as he was disqualified from the whole session, which demoted him to the back of the grid due to over-usage of MGU-K in Q3 by accident.
“Disgraceful,” he started when asked by media including FormulaRapida.net/IndiaInF1.com. “I had a very restless night’s sleep as I was trying to go through it in my head why a penalty would be so harsh.
“For me, it happened on one occurrence and on one lap. If it was happening on the same corner every lap for the whole session I would not complain at all. But it’s like track limits you go off, gain an advantage, delete that lap.
“We didn’t even gain an advantage from this yet they delete the whole session. So I was disgraced by that and voiced my opinion, I’ll keep voicing it. They’re doing great things on track, letting us race and all that.
“But then what’s the point of not giving penalties on track for then giving a massive penalty for something that’s out of my control? They discussed it but I felt that from the moment they walked in, they had made up their mind.
“They said it was a blank canvas. They said it was like they were talking to people that didn’t care to listen, so they didn’t think it was worth appealing. For me the track limits thing is a best example, for that they use common sense as when you gain an advantage, you delete that lap sure.
“But to literally ruin my weekend, I feel like they should pay for my business class ticket back. Anyway it’s a bit of a waste of time coming here now.” Renault also decided not to appeal the case.
The demotion set Ricciardo off as he had to claw back on a circuit which is difficult to overtake. The Australian did quite well with his strategy and points looked possible until his tangle with Giovinazzi.
When speaking with media, he actually saw the reply with us and kind of accepted that the contact was avoidable. He said he will certainly talk with Giovinazzi – which he may have already done by now.
“I’ll definitely go and see him [Giovinazzi], it was not intentional,” he said. “I mean, Lance wasn’t man enough to apologise to me at the start of Spa-Francorchamps, whether you think it is his fault or not.
“I’ll go and see Giovinazzi and say what I need to say.” The Italian was on-course for a good result himself as he even led the grand prix – the only non-Top 3 team’s driver to do so in 2019 – but the tangle set him back.
He eventually ended up 10th where he felt seventh was possible. It included a time penalty for him for driving too close to the crane but he kept the Top 10 position as he was quite far ahead from Haas’ Romain Grosjean.
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