Daniel Ricciardo doubles down on Kevin Magnussen criticism

Daniel Ricciardo has called for the book to be thrown at a fellow F1 driver after the Aussie’s Hungarian Grand Prix was ruined.

Daniel Ricciardo wants his rival to be punished.

Daniel Ricciardo has called for Kevin Magnussen to be hit with a stern punishment after accusing the Haas star of ignoring established etiquette during the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Aussie F1 driver endured a horror weekend in Budapest, suffering an early exit in qualifying after an incident with Sergio Perez and starting at the back of the grid. Although he was able to make up some ground, Ricciardo only managed to finish a lowly 14th as his disappointing debut season with Renault continued.

Ricciardo knows his qualifying issues cost him a better finish in the main event but he still placed some of the blame for his ordinary result on Magnussen, who he said regularly moved in the braking area — which is a big no-no.

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Ricciardo tried to pass Magnussen several times but felt he was being unfairly hindered.

“I let the first two go, I didn’t come on the radio,” Ricciardo told Motorsport.com. “I don’t want to be the guy that literally comes on the radio straight away, I thought I’d let him be aggressive for a bit.

“But then there were a couple where he was moving. I was committing to the inside, and then he was braking and squeezing as much as he could, and then I was like, I’ve got to say something.

“For me it was definitely moving under braking, which is the one thing we don’t really appreciate.”

FIA race director Michael Masi warned Haas about Magnussen’s conduct but Ricciardo said the punishment needed to go further than that.

“I was going to (confront Magnussen), and I was advised just to take a few deep breaths and let it go,” Ricciardo said.

“It’s alright, it’s racing, but for sure what we drivers agree on and speak with the stewards about, he definitely moved under braking more than twice.

“I heard he got a warning, but a warning is not enough.”

Ricciardo’s anger towards Magnussen was evident when he eventually jumped on his team radio to complain.

“This (expletive) is taking the (expletive) movement on the braking,” Ricciardo said as Sky Sports bleeped out his colourful language.

Ricciardo had a tough day on the track.

Things haven’t exactly gone to plan for Ricciardo since quitting Red Bull and joining Renault this year. He sits 11th in the drivers’ standings and despite his French team’s desire to lead the midfield pack behind Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull, it has slumped to sixth in the constructors’ championship ahead of the summer break.

But Ricciardo is nothing if not optimistic and despite his disappointing weekend in Hungary, he was still trying to focus on the few positives to emerge from the race.

“It was always going to be tough starting at the back of the grid, but there were some positive moments,” Ricciardo said. “We made the hard tyres last well and then had good pace on the soft tyre towards the end.

“There are some positives and the summer break will be good for us. We’ll reset, take some time off, we know we’re in it together and we’ll be targeting a better second half of the season.”

Renault chief Cyril Abiteboul reflected on an underwhelming weekend for the entire team after Ricciardo’s teammate Nico Hulkenberg also finished outside the points in 12th.

“With Nico, we were targeting points, but with an engine having to run in safe mode, and a very modest advantage over the soft tyre starters, we could not make our strategy really work,” Abiteboul said.

“Daniel ran a good race, but starting last is always going to be a challenge at a track like Budapest. He still managed to gain several positions and had a good fight with Magnussen until the last corner, showing that he is a fighter who does not surrender.

“His attitude on track must be an inspiration for us as we head towards the summer break, with a first half of the season well below our objectives.”

Originally published as Daniel Ricciardo doubles down on Kevin Magnussen criticism