Aston Martin brands F1’s decision to penalize Lance Stroll for Daniel Ricciardo clash as “very harsh”

Lance Stroll has received massive heat for his crash with Daniel Ricciardo during the 2024 Chinese GP.

Aston Martin brands F1’s decision to penalize Lance Stroll for Daniel Ricciardo clash as “very harsh”

Lance Stroll, Daniel Ricciardo and Mike Krack (Via: Imago)

The Chinese GP was eventful, featuring two safety cars in an entertainment-filled race. However, under safety car conditions, Lance Stroll rammed the rear of Daniel Ricciardo‘s RB, rendering him out of the race. This subsequently led the stewards to issue a 10-second penalty for the Canadian, which is now being criticized by Aston Martin‘s team principal, Mike Krack.

Daniel Ricciardo started the race in P12 and was near the fringes of points before the pitstop phase. He then leapfrogged ahead of Lance Stroll during the safety car period and looked set for a good result. However, this ambition lasted only a few laps as on lap 27, the Aussie received a huge slam from the Aston Martin driver, causing his race to end early.

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While Stroll received a strong penalty, Mike Krack reckoned it to be quite harsh on his driver.

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A very, very quick verdict today without really understanding... I thought it was very, very fast and very harsh, very quick decision. I think it was a chain reaction at the end of the day. You saw Fernando [Alonso] locking and another car behind and I think everybody was a little bit caught out there.
Mike Krack said in an interview with Motorsport.com

The 52-year-old is of the opinion that it was a chain reaction that led to Stroll hitting Ricciardo. Moreover, he defended him by claiming that stewards were focused on the result of the clash and did not wait for the 25-year-old to have a chat with them about why the incident initially took place.

Lance Stroll evaded himself from taking any blame for the incident with Daniel Ricciardo

Even after receiving backlash for his incident with the Australian in the F1 sphere, Aston Martin seemed to have been supporting Stroll’s argument. Moreover, the 25-year-old seemed firm on his stance regarding his contact with Ricciardo and claimed it to be a racing incident.

Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll (L), Daniel Ricciardo (R) (images via IMAGO), Stroll crashing into Ricciardo's rear at the Chinese GP (via F1).
Lance Stroll (L), Daniel Ricciardo (R) (images via IMAGO), Stroll crashing into Ricciardo’s rear at the Chinese GP (via F1).

Stroll claimed his clash to be a result of the concertina effect instead of a lapse in judgment.

Yeah, there was a concertina effect in the hairpin. Someone braked in front and… I think it was like everyone kind of braked and the car in front of me just stopped right in front of me, I had nowhere to go. I don’t understand it[penalty]. It was just really one of those concertina effects racing incidents.

Lance Stroll said in a post race interview with F1

As pointed out by Ricciardo, the Canadian was not focused on the safety car restart and was already focused on reaching the apex. However, Stroll blamed the drivers ahead for locking up at the turn 14 hairpin causing drivers to slow down which ultimately led him to crash into the RB.

This explanation did not seem to satisfy the Australian, as he seemed furious and lashed out at Stroll. Subsequently, the F1 sphere awaits both drivers to meet at the next race in Miami, and receive a follow-up on their firey feud.

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