Ricciardo: Vettel doesn’t think before he acts
Daniel Ricciardo has slammed former team-mate Sebastian Vettel for his dangerous driving during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix saying the German does not think before he acts.
Vettel was penalised by race stewards in Baku after deliberately side-swiping Lewis Hamilton behind the safety car – for which he received a ten-second stop/go penalty.
Hamilton branded Vettel’s driving during the race as ‘disgraceful’, believing the four-time champion got away lightly and should have received a harsher penalty.
Ricciardo, who clinched his fifth career victory in Azerbaijan, says while he still respects Vettel for his passion and grit for driving, his actions can sometimes turn aggressive in the heat of the moment.
“Seb probably sometimes doesn’t think before he acts,” Ricciardo told BBC Sport.
“It’s probably driven through passion and hunger. He’s kind of just got to put a lid on it sometimes.
“I respect Seb a lot for his grit and his love for the sport, which turns into a lot of passion and sometimes aggression. I respect and like that about him.
“But today you have seen… whether it’s over the radio, sometimes he will just go crazy. It is probably – what’s the word? – spur of the moment? There’s a better word.”
Vettel stated that Hamilton had braked-checked him before the safety car restart in which he was unable to avoid a collision, but the stewards concluded from Hamilton’s data he had not broken any rules regarding a restart.
Ricciardo agreed that the Briton was blameless, adding: “Look, whether Lewis slowed down or not, he has every right to dictate the pace. He’s the leader, and it was too early for him to accelerate.
“You’re not going to make the restart out of Turn 15. Seb was probably just a little bit over-excited.”
Vettel was awarded three penalty points for the incident, leaving him three points away from a one-race ban.