The Chinese Grand Prix turned into an expletive-ridden push and race-ending shove, says Peter Coster
Good luck, bad luck, no luck. Luck has nothing to do with it. Daniel Ricciardo was knocked out of the Chinese Grand Prix because another driver rear-ended him.
Lance Stroll in the Aston Martin hit Ricciardo in the Visa RB so hard Ricciardo’s car was lifted into the air and pushed forward into the back of fellow Australian driver Oscar Piastri’s McLaren.
Ricciardo’s car was undriveable and retired while Piastri’s McLaren finished eighth with severe rear-end damage.
No bad luck there. Stroll tried to blame the crash on Ricciardo but the steward’s saw it differently and gave the Aston Martin driver a 10-second time penalty, which saw him finish nearly a lap down.
But back to luck and the apparent lack of it for Ricciardo.
Luck has nothing to do with what has happened to the expatriate Australian driver from Perth since the beginning of the season.
Some might say Ricciardo’s luck has turned from being out qualified by teammate Yuki Tsunoda in the first four races of the season.
Again, luck has nothing to do with it. Ricciardo’s lack of performance has been caused by everything from the weather to his suspicions that there was something wrong with the chassis of the car, which was replaced for the Chinese race.
The team principal said the chassis change was “not performance related” but after the Shanghai race the Honey Badger might have said, “I told you so.”
Ricciardo out qualified Yuki Tsunoda for the first time this year and would likely have finished in the top 10 and the points had he not been punted out of the race by Stroll.
Suddenly there was reason to believe Ricciardo might not be washed up as winner and is back in contention as most pundits, including this one, have been inclined to believe.
Next race is Miami and the bad luck excuse is out there again after the stewards penalised the Australian three grid positions because he passed Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg under a safety car at Shanghai.
Ricciardo said he did so because Hulkenberg had done the same thing to him, but the fact remains the Honey Badger passed the Hulk under safety car rules.
Again more so-called bad luck before the Miami race in two week’s time has nothing to do with it.
Look for the cause before giving up on Ricciardo is the lesson to be learnt.
The Australian kept his temper under wraps after the China crash until he heard Stroll was calling him an “idiot,” when Ricciardo unleashed a “f… that guy.”
Stroll, whose billionaire father Lawrence Stroll owns the Aston Martin team, has bigger problems.
Stroll’s teammate in double world champion Fernando Alonso has the Canadian driver anchored firmly behind him.
The Spaniard finished seventh at Shanghai after qualifying on the second row of the grid and was the first to brake heavily under the safety car to add to an incident at the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park.
Mercedes driver George Russell was tipped on his side and screaming for the race to be red-flagged after Alonso jumped on the brakes.
And like bad luck, what has age got to do with it?
Alonso is nearly 43 and at the front end of the grid whereas Ricciardo at 34 is too often criticised as being too old.
But back to the Chinese Grand Prix where three-times world champion Max Verstappen gave yet another master class in the Red Bull with McLaren’s Lando Norris giving a similar performance in second place, preventing Red Bull from a one-two finish with Sergio Perez third on the podium.
The Ferraris of Leclerc and Sainz were fourth and fifth ahead of Russell and Alonso with Piastri a couple of seconds in front of Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes the Brit driver habitually complains about.
The seven-times world champion is off to Ferrari next year while Sainz, who has been dropped to make way for him, is looking for seat.
Perez is secure for the moment at Red Bull after a run of podium finishes while Ricciardo, who might have been in contention for a promotion from the junior Red Bull team, has New Zealander Liam Lawson looking over his shoulder on the pit wall.
The super-sub caught Red Bull’s attention with a points finish when he sat in for Ricciardo while the Australian was recovering from a broken hand after he hit the barriers at Zandvoort in avoiding Oscar Piastri’s McLaren, which had already tangled with the armco.
Another case of cause rather than bad luck, so the Honey Badger might still prove the pundits wrong and will be at the centre of attention at Miami.
The Americans love the Aussie with his infectious toothy grin.
Oscar Piastri is also proving a fan favourite, particularly at the Chinese Grand prix on Sunday where the crowd was told he had a Chinese connection.
Piastri’s great grandfather was said to be Chinese.
Closer to home was Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu who finished 14th for Kick Sauber after qualifying 16th.
The home crowd cheered his every move before Zhou fell weeping to his knees after the race. F1 for all its sometimes silliness, which will be on full display in Miami can still stir the emotions.
PETER COSTER is a former editor and foreign correspondent who has covered a range of international sports, including world championship fights and the Olympic Games.
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