Ricciardo keeps head down as Hamilton, Rosberg throw jabs

F1’s post-race press conference can be an awkward place when Mercedes is involved. Daniel Ricciardo’s body language said it all.

Daniel Ricciardo (right) wanted no part in Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton’s argument.

SOMETIMES there are unexpected disadvantages to finishing on the podium, as Daniel Ricciardo discovered after coming third behind Mercedes rivals Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in Hungary.

Relations between the two leading drivers in Formula One are becoming tense now that Hamilton has recovered from a slow start to the season to grab the lead in the driver’s standing with his win on Sunday night (AEST).

They threatened to boil over during the post-race press conference, when Hamilton was asked about a contentious moment in qualifying where Rosberg appeared to disobey the double yellow flag rule which requires drivers to “reduce ... speed significantly, not overtake, and be prepared to change direction or stop”.

After Hamilton asked for clarification of the rule post-qualifying, Rosberg was called before the stewards. The Brit was asked to explain the situation further after the race — and that’s when things got interesting.

The three-time world champion launched into an elaborate explanation of the double yellow flag ruling and why Rosberg should have been penalised — all while his teammate was sitting directly to his right. Ricciardo sat silently with his hands locked together and his head down looking like he’d rather be anywhere in the world than next to the feuding teammates.

“Well the stewards needs to come up with some kind of solution because it is — the whole 23 years of racing, it has been ‘if it’s yellow flag, you slow down’ and if it’s double yellow flag, you be prepared to stop and Nico was doing the same speed at the apex as I was doing on the previous timed lap,” Hamilton said.

“If there happened to be a car that was spun or a marshal on the track, it would have been pretty hard for him to have slowed down in that case, so that’s why ... and the fact that he didn’t get penalised for it means that we need to be careful because the message we’re sending not only to the drivers here but also to the drivers in the lower categories is that it’s now possible for you to lose only one tenth of a second in a double waved yellow flag section which is the most dangerous — one of the most dangerous scenarios with the double yellow flags.

“They need to clear that up because before it was two tenths that you were meant to lose with one yellow flag and half a second with two yellow flags. It wasn’t the case yesterday and there was no penalty, so going into the next race, we could be battling for pole position and we see double yellow flags and we know we only have to do a small lift and lose one tenth of a second and we’ll be fine and go purple in the sector. So that’s why it does need to be clarified and I’m sure Charlie and the stewards are going to do so because it needs to be clear.”

You can feel the love.

Having patiently waited through Hamilton’s speech, Rosberg made a swift response. “Thank you for making that statement,” said Rosberg, awkwardly patting Hamilton on the back. “So now I’m going to put my response. What you have to do with a double yellow is significantly reduce your speed and make sure you go safe. I went 20km/h slower into that corner, 20km/h is a different world in an F1 car. 20km/h, you are going proper slow. It’s completely ... everything is safe. That’s how I did my speed and lifted off thirty meters before my braking point, so I was just rolling there, 20km/h slower until I got to the apex. Then of course when you’re in the apex, I would have a much tighter line because I went in slow and then so I could accelerate out again.

“So definitely I significantly reduced my speed and that’s what it says you need to do and that’s why for the stewards that was completely acceptable. It was very, very obvious what I did, very clear and of course on a drying track you’re going to get massively faster every lap. It’s not like the track was consistent. On a drying track, it’s irrelevant what the sector time was because you’re going to get so much quicker every time you go out there because there’s wet patches and when they dry, you just go so much quicker. And so in that segment, I was slower, where there was the yellow flag but of course in the big sector, yeah, I’m quicker because the track is getting quicker and I’m pushing in all the other corners. So it was a pretty clear case for the stewards and that’s why I didn’t get any penalty.”

You can watch the exchange in the video above, including Ricciardo’s determined effort to keep his head down.

Unfortunately the Australian’s best attempt to stay out of the squabble was ruined when a reporter asked for his thoughts on the issue. He appeared to back Hamilton.

“It’s something which we’ve actually been wanting to probably discuss further for a long time or quantify because a single yellow, people are getting away with a micro lift and showing the stewards that look, I slowed down where you’re not really. But a double yellow is a significant,” he said.

“It’s a big risk on the track, perhaps and in my case, Fernando (Alonso) was still at the apex, pointing towards us on the racing line so I had no choice but obviously, looking at the double yellows before that, it’s a little bit blind so already I was willing to drastically slow down, I guess. I think the double yellow needs to be very different to the single yellow and I think that’s what we’re not too pleased with at the moment.”

Expect further discussion on the issue — and further tension at Mercedes.