Sport
Daniel Ricciardo: Being dirty every now and then is alright!
In his ongoing battle with Carlos Sainz in Austin, Daniel Ricciardo made no apologies for being a little “dirty.”
McLaren and Ferrari are competing for third position in the Constructors’ Championship, while their other three drivers were all closely matched at the United States Grand Prix, with the exception of Charles Leclerc, who cleared off into the distance to finish fourth.
Sainz finished seventh despite having to deal with two McLarens on his own, with Ricciardo eventually breaking away to finish fifth and Valtteri Bottas’ Mercedes separating the two.
Meanwhile, Lando Norris, who was also racing his old Spanish team-mate, finished eighth, directly behind the second Ferrari.
After the race, Ricciardo reflected on many separate occasions with Sainz, the most recent of which led in the Spaniard admitting over team radio “that got a bit dirty” after the cars collided and the Ferrari’s front wing endplate was damaged.
“[Sainz] put on a good attack later on in the race and we obviously went side by side, and a little bit of banging wheels. So it was very fun, and very needed to hold on for everything I could,” said Ricciardo.
“Obviously you don’t deliberately try to go into someone, but that’s obviously a bit of rubbing racing.
“And when you put yourself on the outside, obviously you’re a little bit more exposed. So nothing was deliberate, but I guess it’s the risk he ran by trying on the outside.”
Ricciardo added: “That’s cool. I’m happy to be dirty. I’m a nice guy, so being dirty every now and then is alright!”
Of their earlier skirmishes, Ricciardo said: “The first lap was a lot of fun. I got Carlos I think at the start, then he got me back with a good move outside of [turn] six into seven.
“Then I got him back at turn 17 I think on the inside. So it was three kind of changes in position on the first lap, which was cool, but that was crucial for me to get a top-five.
“Charles showed Ferrari were quicker, we couldn’t match that pace. So obviously that’s something we’ve got to still try to find. But to beat one of them is quite rewarding.”
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