Daniel Ricciardo hits out at Australian Grand Prix grid penalty

Joshua Thomas

Daniel Ricciardo hits out at Australian Grand Prix grid penalty image

Never afraid to speak his mind, Daniel Ricciardo has slammed the three-place grid penalty he's received at the Australian Grand Prix as a result of driving too quickly during a red-flag period in training on Friday.

Caught out by the new formula one rule only introduced this year, the Aussie's hopes of claiming a home grand prix have been dealt a major blow as a result of the penalty and he didn't hold back when asked how he felt about it.

“I think it’s s***house,” he told Ten.

“Yesterday’s news has been pretty bitter for me.

"I’m pissed to say the least.”

MORE: Daniel Ricciardo cops three-place grid penalty at Australian GP

The 28-year-old Red Bull driver was forced to retire at the Melbourne event in 2017 and faces an uphill battle to reach the podium there for the first time.

Interestingly, data from Ricciardo's car showed he did slow down considerably during the red flag period but that wasn't enough to appease officials.

While Ricciardo conceded he did do the wrong thing during his run, he clearly hoped common sense would prevail in terms of his penalty.

“I made a mistake, no doubt about it, but is that mistake worth a grid penalty in a practice session when no car’s on track, no-one’s upside down," he said.

“It was a cable on the track. I didn’t pass the incident.

“I just think common sense should have prevailed.”

A fan favourite wherever he goes, the Aussie has inevitably been swarmed by locals in Melbourne and will need all that support if he is to overcome the penalty he's copped. 


Joshua Thomas

Joshua Thomas Photo

Josh has been covering sport for nearly a decade now having fallen in love with football at a young age. A UTS graduate, Josh has previously worked for GOAL and now covers football closely for The Sporting News.