Daniel Ricciardo, from AlphaTauri, faced setbacks after the chaotic start of the Formula 1 São Paulo Grand Prix last Sunday, 5th. The Australian driver had to make a pit stop on the first lap due to damage to his rear wing.
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With the red flag raised for repairs to the barrier, the team managed to repair Ricciardo’s car, which restarted the race from the pit lane and was one lap behind the field; a similar situation to that of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. Ricciardo expressed his dissatisfaction with the FIA regulations.
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“We were hoping for a red flag so we could get back into the race. We went to the pits when we heard about the red flag. The team did an incredible job fixing the car, and we were ready to get back on the track,” said Ricciardo. “But then we were told that both Oscar and I would start a lap behind. All the excitement of racing again was taken away. There was no full lap under the green flag. It’s frustrating. It seems like something a bit silly in the rules,” he added.
At the start, the collision between Kevin Magnussen and Alexander Albon resulted in tire debris hitting the rear wing of Ricciardo’s car. The Australian finished the race in 13th place, and damage also affected Piastri’s car. “My point is: if 15 cars had the same problem, would they put all those cars in the pit lane one lap behind and only five cars on the grid? No, they wouldn’t do that. They could use common sense and be more flexible. We wanted just running, being in the race. That’s a little painful,” he concluded. Article 57.3 of the 2023 F1 sporting regulations stipulates that “any car in its pit lane when the race is suspended will be arranged at the end of the queue of cars in the fast lane (of the pit lane) in the order of finish. Cars (… ) must join the race when the last car passes the pit lane exit after the restart.