Daniel Ricciardo Laughs Off Carlos Sainz’s Impeding Complaints

Posted on November 26, 2023 | by Dre Harrison We all know Daniel Ricciardo is an entertaining character in the F1 paddock, and after a disappointing Abu Dhabi qualifying session where the Honey Badger had to settle for P15 on the grid, Ricciardo jokingly let rip on long-time friend Carlos Sainz! Carlos vented about the traffic on the track in Q1. Sainz had to take his final run right at the end of the session because of an issue with his front wing that cost him precious time. He even implied that some team tactics were malicious on team radio, saying: “I think the Merc did it on purpose. He did Turn 5 ahead of me, the Alpine Turn 2-3.” When this was put to Ricciardo in his post-qualifying scrum attended by media including The Race, Ricciardo turned the tables on the Spaniard. “He’s normally the upset-er!” said Daniel. And when he found out Carlos was directly behind him on the grid, the jokes continued: “Oh he’s directly behind me? I’m going to speak to him. 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!” As much as Ricciardo was clearly taking the mickey out of his old mate, he did stress Carlos might have been a touch hypocritical about his complaints: “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.” And in one last jokey response, when asked what would happen if Sainz read his quotes, Ricciardo added: “Maybe it’ll send him hard into Turn 1 and help me out.” Tomorrow sounds like it could be a tasty fight between the old Red Bull family drivers! Is Carlos the guilty party in F1 when it comes to impeding?