Ricciardo calls for weighbridge rule change

Daniel Ricciardo has defended Sebastian Vettel after the controversy that the latter found himself in on Saturday regarding the weighbridge. Vettel was fined €25,000 and received a reprimand after breaking the scales during qualifying.

Vettel pulled away from the scales on his own accord and didn't wait to be pushed off by the officials. Vettel said that it was unfair that he was called onto the weighbridge when conditions were changing during the session and he still hadn't set a lap time.

Ricciardo emphasises with his former teammate and thinks there should be a shuffling in the rules: “If I was in his position, I would be frustrated as well, because rain is coming, he hasn’t set a lap yet and in simple terms they are postponing his qualifying and putting him at risk,” Ricciardo said.

“I’m sure we are going to talk about it in Abu Dhabi now, but we might have to try and add something in, like you can only be called if you have set a lap. I think calling you in before you have set a lap, they are kind of controlling your qualifying session, which I think is a bit unfair. So from that point of view, I will sympathise I would say.”

Adding to his comments, the Red Bull driver said: “You’ve got to switch your car off, that’s the thing, and then the mechanics have got to come and start it up. I couldn’t put a time on it – more than a minute or something. But if the weather is like that, it’s not ideal.

“They called me in in Suzuka when I had my problem and I hadn’t set a time, so I was a bit like ‘guys, why do you need me? I’ve done nothing’. But then they saw I had problems and let me go. I kind of feel we need to set a lap before they call us in."