Daniel Ricciardo takes aim at Carlos Sainz with F1 'culprit' claim

Ricciardo tijdens persconferentie op Zandvoort — Photo: © LAT Images

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Ricciardo takes aim at Sainz with F1 'culprit' claim

Daniel Ricciardo calls out hypocritical Sainz after Abu Dhabi woes

Shay Rogers

Sunday 26 November 2023 13:15

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Daniel Ricciardo has fired back at Carlos Sainz after the Spaniard’s recent run of complaints over impeding.

The Aussie was ahead of Sainz during FP2 when the Ferrari driver speared off the track and into the barrier – blaming Ricciardo’s dirty air, as well as a bump for the incident.

Carlos Sainz walks away from the scene of the accident after a heavy crash in FP2

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Coincidentally, the two will occupy the eighth row together for Sunday’s race, with Carlos Sainz eager to make up ground from the back of the grid.

Ferrari are embroiled in a tight fight with Mercedes in the constructors’ championship, so the Spaniard is going to need a clean getaway if he is going to contribute to any success.

Ricciardo: He is always the culprit

“Oh, he’s directly behind me? I’m going to speak to him,” Ricciardo told the media. “I know he upset some people in practice and stuff, so I’m going to tell him to maybe not press his left foot too much into Turn 1 tomorrow and upset some people and help me out!

Daniel Ricciardo lines up alongside Carlos Sainz for the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

“I don’t know why he does it but he is always the culprit. He hasn’t upset me this weekend but I don’t know if he’s just messing with us, but he definitely seems to be the one that everyone likes to talk about in terms of impeding.

“But it’s alright. He’s good. Love him. Awesome. Good job, Carlos. We’ll move through the pack tomorrow.”

Daniel Ricciardo has a lot of work to do from 16th on the grid

Daniel Ricciardo himself has a mighty task ahead of him during the grand prix, with seventh in the constructors’ still up for grabs as his AlphaTauri team look to sign off by getting themselves ahead of Williams at the last moment.

Yuki Tsunoda quietly put in a sensational performance in qualifying with sixth, so Ricciardo is going to have his work cut out if he is to help his team-mate in the race.

Ferrari Mercedes Daniel Ricciardo Carlos Sainz Abu Dhabi Grand Prix