Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo says he has no issues with being called a “dirty” driver by Carlos Sainz during yesterday’s United States Grand Prix.
The pair banged wheels as Sainz attempted to pass Ricciardo around the outside during the closing stages of the race. Ricciardo was able to hold the position and finish fifth, while Sainz came home seventh.
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Shortly after the pair made contact, the Ferrari driver complained to his team about the Australian’s driving.
“That got a bit dirty, he did that on purpose,” he said.
Neither car appeared to suffer any damage, and Ricciardo wasn’t taking offence at Sainz’s description of his driving.
“That’s cool. I’m happy to be dirty. I’m a nice guy, so being dirty every now and then is alright,” he said.
“(Sainz) put on a good attack later on in the race as well and we obviously went side-by-side, and a little bit of banging wheels. So it was very fun.
“Obviously you don’t deliberately try to go into someone, but that’s obviously a bit of a bit of rubbing racing.
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“And when you put yourself on the outside, obviously you’re a little bit more exposed. So nothing was deliberate, but I guess it’s the risk that he ran by trying on the outside.”
It wasn’t the only battle Ricciardo and Sainz had during the race in Texas, with the pair fighting for much of the first lap, before the McLaren eventually getting the upper hand.
From then on Ricciardo ran in fifth for the entire race, apart from his pit stops, outpacing teammate Lando Norris in another sign he’s getting to grips with the quirks of the McLaren.
“At times it was let’s say kind of a standard progressive race or whatever, but then at times it was interesting,” said Ricciardo.
“The first lap was a lot of fun. I got Carlos I think on the start, then he got me back with a good move outside of six into seven.
“And then I got him back Turn 17 I think on the inside. So it was three kind of changes in position on the first lap was cool, but that was crucial for me to get a top five today.
“Charles (Leclerc) showed that Ferrari were quicker, we couldn’t match that pace today. So obviously that’s something we’ve got to still try to find. But to beat one of them is quite rewarding.”
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