Daniel Ricciardo says that Alpine Formula 1 drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon were having a “strong-arm competition” when they clashed on the first lap of the Monaco GP.
The pair collided just before the tunnel having already come close together at the first corner and again up the hill into the lefthander at Massenet.
After the red flag caused by the Perez/Magnussen accident Gasly was able to take the restart and claim 10th place, while Ocon was forced to retire after his hard landing led to suspension and gearbox damage.
VCARB driver Ricciardo – who was separated from the battling Frenchmen by Lance Stroll – said the Alpine incident reminded him of his own clash with then Red Bull team mate Max Verstappen at the 2018 Azerbaijan GP.
“Yeah, it was close,” he said when asked by this writer if he’d nearly become caught up in it.
“I mean, Lance was definitely closer, so I had a little bit more time to react, but there was wheel touching I feel like three times before that happened, or probably including that one.
“Honestly, it reminded me of Baku 2018, where obviously Max and I touched I think twice or three times before then the accident. Obviously that one brewed in a lot shorter amount of time, but I could see it happening, where I was like, ‘Okay, I feel like tension is rising very quickly!’
“And yeah, sometimes with teammates, it sparks even more. When I saw it happen, I wasn’t surprised, because it felt like neither of them wanted to give in, and they were having a strong-arm competition. I’m sure the team – and I know how that one goes – I’m sure they’re not happy.”
Ricciardo spent most of the restarted race behind Fernando Alonso, with the Spanish driver backing off to create some breathing space for Aston team mate Stroll up ahead. Ricciardo eventually finished 12th after what he admitted was frustrating afternoon.
“I’m trying to find some good things,” he said. “But I wish I was staring at the back of Fernando last year, because that would have made a podium! He finished second from memory.
“Most times actually you’re behind Fernando it’s not a bad day, but unfortunately this one was. Honestly, if you’re not on pole here there’s a highly likely chance that your race is being dictated by someone else’s pace.
“I tried to put pressure on him, also because it’s fun to try and force someone into a mistake. I knew he had mediums, so I was trying to make him use the tyre, and just keep some pressure on him.
“So there were definitely laps where I was enjoying a little bit of cat and mouse, and there were a few little looks, but with his experience and around this track, you need to make a pretty catastrophic error to leave the door open.
Asked about his own tyre life he said: “I definitely felt it probably the last 10 laps. There wasn’t that much left in the tyres. Even my engineer was saying, ‘Look, give yourself some room to give your tyres a break.’
“But I just knew if I gave myself room, he was just going to give himself room. His pace was just going to slow with mine. And we were already driving so slowly. I didn’t really feel like lapping in the 1m25s! I just said I have a hard, he has a medium. I’ll just push, and if anyone loses the tyre first, it’s probably him.”
VCARB has been working on starts recently, and on a positive note Ricciardo suggested that there were signs of improvement.
“The first one actually was one of our best of the year,” he said. “But that’s the shortest and probably the tightest run to Turn 1. So I had a bit of a run on Gasly, but then the space tightened so much into one I had to come out of it, and then that allowed Stroll to come through with a bit more momentum.
“So he got me there, and then the second one he covered the inside, and that allowed Fernando room on the outside. That was that. I two laps today of clear air. Those two laps were fun. The rest, just very patient.”
Adam Cooper F1 