There was another messed up pit stop at the 2021 Russian Grand Prix to keep up with what seems to be a trend in F1 workshops these days. Since the pit stop rules at the Belgian Grand Prix changed, many teams have struggled with adjustment difficulties. The Russian GP was no different with many slow pit stops in the pit lane. The supposedly biggest influence on the race (at least until the rain spread everything randomly) was Daniel Ricciardo’s slow pit stop.
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In retrospect, Daniel has said that he will take some of the blame for this mistake in Sochi.
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The setup for a hectic pit stop went wrong for Daniel Ricciardo
After the hectic first laps, Ricciardo was in third place after Russell and Stroll had switched to hard tires early on. Hamilton’s Mercedes was right behind Daniel, putting pressure on the Australian. On lap 23, the Mercedes crew appeared in the pit lane as if they wanted to stop Hamilton. McLaren fell in love with the dummy and hit Ricciardo to cover the undercut.
Formula 1 F1 – Russian Grand Prix – Sochi Autodrom, Sochi, Russia – September 26, 2021, McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo during the REUTERS / Maxim Shemetov race
However, it did not materialize as intended. A long pit stop cost Ricciardo a lot of time and he fell behind Lewis. Daniel revealed that some of this was his own fault.
Slow pit stop Ricciardo himself to blame?
When asked whether the slow pit stop in Sochi cost him a potential podium, Ricciardo said: “I don’t know”.
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“We’ll look at that. I took some of the blame for quitting a little too long. I saw that the mechanics had to be readjusted, so it must have cost me a bit of time, ”he explained.
Formula 1 F1 – Italian Grand Prix – Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza, Italy – September 12, 2021, McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo celebrates on the podium after winning the REUTERS / Massimo Pinca race
He also said, “It looked like they were slow up front, but if I had stopped properly we might not have had this problem. The pace was good on the hard and I passed Russell pretty quickly. When I got close to Carlos, we started destroying the tires. In the end it’s okay and will get the points. “
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Ricciardo got off to a shaky start at McLaren, with some less than impressive performances early in the season. But now that he has settled in with the team and adapted to the car, Daniel Ricciardo’s true pace is finally showing. The victory in Monza speaks for that.
The post Daniel Ricciardo apologizes for the terrible mistake that cost him the F1 podium in Sochi first appeared on monter-une-startup.
