Daniel Ricciardo reveals outcome of Romain Grosjean F1 replay talks

Romain Grosjean

Ricciardo reveals outcome of Grosjean F1 replay talks

Ricciardo was critical of the handling of Grosjean's fiery accident last weekend

Ian Parkes & Ewan Gale

Sunday 6 December 2020 12:59

Renault driver Daniel Ricciardo has claimed Formula 1 was "understanding" and "appreciative" of his criticisms of the continuous broadcasting of Romain Grosjean's horrifying crash during the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The accident was shown only after it was clear Grosjean was relatively unharmed, although the repeated nature of the graphic replays had infuriated Ricciardo who claimed he was "disgusted" by the "Hollywood" portrayal of the events.

After his condemnation, the Australian was invited to clear the air and discuss any issues he may have, leading to a meeting with F1's director of marketing and communications Ellie Norman.

"I spoke with Ellie on Thursday evening," confirmed Ricciardo.

"To be honest, I think after Sunday they offered to come and chat but last Sunday, there was a lot going on so I wanted to just postpone it.

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"It was definitely worthwhile hearing them out because obviously, I don't want to just blast them in the media and then run away from them, so to speak.

"I chatted probably for half an hour and went through a lot of stuff, I gave my feedback and there wasn't any confronting."

Ricciardo explained the meeting was a two-way conversation and that both parties were respectful of each other's stance.

"She was very understanding, I think appreciative but also accepted my concerns as well, she didn't push back," he added.

"I think she was trying to listen and learn maybe how they can do things differently. She also told me the reasons why they broadcast what they did. I am sure there are some things we can take from it."

Providing examples of possible improvements should such a situation arise in the future, Ricciardo said: "One thing was like a bit of a warning, to pre-empt the audience that there was maybe going to be some graphic images.

"If you have got younger kids then you have a bit of time to pull them away from the TV or something.

"Ross Brawn [F1's managing director motorsports] mentioned that there is something like that, or there is a bit of a context in place, so it was productive.

"They didn't attack me or anything like that so I think it was a worthwhile thing and I think they deserved for me to hear them out."