Ricciardo: Nothing Wrong With Russell Challenging Mercedes’ Bottas at Imola

The incident between Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas and Williams’ George Russell in Imola has been a topic of debate. While the drivers have put the past behind them, the incident had several reactions from drivers and fans. McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo shared his opinion on the incident at Imola.

Daniel Ricciardo thinks Russell was right to try the overtake in Imola

Russell’s ambitious move cost both him and Bottas in Imola. Despite that, Ricciardo believes Russell was right to do what any F1 driver should do.

Ricciardo said, “I don’t know exactly what the situation was between Bottas and Russell, but if Russell felt he could actually overtake him, why not?”

“Ultimately if you’re faster you should be able to try something,” said Ricciardo.

Ayrton Senna once said, “If you no longer go for a gap that exists, then you are no longer a racing driver.” Russell saw a gap in Imola and went for it. However, F1 is more of a team sport rather than an individual sport today. This has brought team orders and competitiveness of teams that have engines supplied by their rivals into question. Mercedes supplies engines to Williams. While Williams aren’t as competitive as Mercedes, Russell could have overtaken Bottas in Imola, which is a rare sight.

Ricciardo recalls being ‘free to race’ in his Toro Rosso days

Toro Rosso were not in the same league as Red Bull. Despite that, Ricciardo always felt he was free to race rivals from these two teams. He recalls the Singapore Grand Prix in 2012, where he was defending 9th place from Red Bull’s Mark Webber.

Ricciardo said, “In situations like that, we were allowed to really race with each other, without thinking too long about who we were fighting with. Of course, you always have to find a balance in that, but I think that Red Bull has as much as possible acted.”

With the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend, we will know more about where the teams stand this season. Can Ricciardo return to the podium this weekend?

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