Daniel Ricciardo says that cheering when a driver crashes is taking on the attitude of a child.
Ricciardo's comments come following a social media post from Lewis Hamilton last week, after he stated fans don't appreciate the danger of motorsport enough following the death of Anthoine Hubert.
Hamilton crashed during the third practice session, hours before Hubert lost his life in a horrific Formula 2 crash.
"Obviously I agree with Lewis, but I think it's difficult to judge the situation from the outside if you've never driven an F1 car," Ricciardo told soymotor.com.
"It's like if we watch boxing, we are always going to think about what to do or what to hit and there are people who celebrate when a boxer falls to the ground. I think it's difficult to judge if you're not in the situation and you'll never know how to assess the danger well.
"In any case, I would expect more from a child than from an adult to celebrate a driver's accident. It's just not pleasant. As a pilot, the only thing I can ask is that if someone is a real fan, not only value the driver but also the risk and not celebrate accidents."
Ricciardo added that he talked with other drivers after the accident, drawing similarities to when Jules Bianchi passed away after succumbing injuries sustained at the Japanese Grand Prix in 2014.
"After the race, we met several drivers and talked about what happened," Ricciardo reflected. "It's nice to know that you're not the only one who feels bad.
"The same thing happened when Bianchi had his accident. I think, however, that the best we can do is turn the page and focus on the weekend. Obviously, turning the page in a good way, not disrespectful."
Replies (5)
Login to replyMansell
Posts: 104
Yeah the children that follow the dive bombing Dutch child.
Yeah they pay their money but F1 was better before these cheering scum bags arrived .
I said on twitter once he crashed , guess it's okay to cheer now, they went mental. Didn't like the boot being on the other foot
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Pssh, before the Dutch fans it was the Britts. Before the Britts, it was the Germans, before the Germans, it was the Brazilians. Fans, super fans, rabid fans or hype bois are nothing new to F1.
bschuit
Posts: 11,990
Thank god the British are so civilized... ha ha ha ha. (The polo spectators i mean)
denis1304
Posts: 284
Lets make something clear, spectators were cheering only after it was obvious nothing happened to Hamilton and it was repeatedly replayed on big screens round the track.
Still not OK, but come on... I am 100% no one was cheering after F2 fatal accident.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Sadly, some comments of straight up weirdos on the internet (nobody here) seem to imply otherwise, and I'm sadly not even surprised if that is how it actually is. :/