Ferrari driver only ceded position to Vettel after mistake at Turn One
Monday 22 September 2014 09:06, UK
Daniel Ricciardo has questioned whether Fernando Alonso should have given a place back to him, as well as team-mate Sebastian Vettel, at the start of the Singapore GP after the Ferrari driver cut the first corner.
In a near carbon-copy of his launch from the left-hand side of the grid in last year’s race, Alonso was straight on the cars ahead of him on the grid at the lights, the Spaniard keeping to the outside on the approach to Turn One as the two Red Bulls battled for position on the inside.
However, although fractionally ahead of both Vettel and Ricciardo into the braking zone, Alonso locked up and went straight on across the copious run-off area that sits on the outside of Turns One and Two, returning to the track behind race leader Lewis Hamilton entering Turn Three.
And although the Ferrari ceded position to Vettel soon afterwards, Alonso kept ahead of Ricciardo, who was left to ponder afterwards whether he should have been given a place too.
“It’s a tough one,” Ricciardo mused to Sky Sports F1. “Obviously he went a fair way off and gave it back to Seb. It’s like if he didn’t brake that late would he have been behind me? It’s a tough one.
“The pros of these run-offs are that it’s safer, which is great, but the cons are people get away with mistakes and errors. If that was Monaco he would have been in the wall.”
Dissecting the first-corner incident in Sky F1’s post-race show, both Damon Hill and Johnny Herbert agreed that Alonso should have dropped back behind both Red Bulls.
“He had the option of ducking out of the move because there’s run-off so in effect you could argue if obviously there was a brick wall there he wouldn’t have braked so late,” 1996 World Champion Hill suggested.
“This is one of the problems with run-offs. I’m certain he would have tried to make it round the corner but the question is whether or not by making run-offs driver get an unfair advantage in situations like that. I think he should have relinquished both of the positions, not just the one.”
As it transpired, both Vettel and Ricciardo finished ahead of Alonso at the chequered flag after opting to make one less pitstop than the Ferrari after the Spaniard had jumped the former in the second pitstops.
