23/09/2024
NEWS STORY
"I didn't think it was allowed," says Zak Brown as Daniel Ricciardo claims fastest lap in Singapore, thereby depriving Lando Norris of a potential championship winning point.
You can bet that among those that didn't vote Daniel Ricciardo their 'driver of the day' on the official F1 website was McLaren CEO, Zak Brown.
By posting the fastest lap of the race Ricciardo deprived title hopeful Norris of the honour and the point that goes with it.
Sunday's race saw Norris close Max Verstappen's championship lead to 52 points and with six races remaining every single point is going to be precious come season end in Abu Dhabi.
While everyone in the field was on a one-stop strategy, Kevin Magnussen had to make a second stop after suffering as puncture, while Ricciardo, who had started on softs, also had to make a second stop as he struggled for grip on his 36-lap old mediums. Switching back to softs he stopped for another set of the red-banded rubber four laps from the end as his team targeted the fastest lap.
"That's a nice A/B team sporting thing that I didn't think was allowed," Brown told Sirius XM when asked about the fastest lap. "But hey, that's not the first time we've seen it, probably won't be the last."
Asked if he would be questioning the move, he replied: "I'll certainly ask some questions.
"It's something I've spoken about in the past," he added, "and I think it illustrates that it does happen, because I think you wouldn't have made that pit stop to go for that. It's not going to get anyone a point, so I think it does illustrate the issue around that topic."
"This is a big matter," said team boss Andrea Stella. "You know, as soon as you invoke the sportsmanship, I think you need to approach this with a sense of responsibility, that I want to have.
"I don't know the facts," he admitted. "I just saw that RB went for the fastest lap, and they achieved it. But for me here talk about sportsmanship and so on, I think would be out of place. So I think we have to take it at face value.
"They scored the fastest lap, and potentially as part of a longer-term conversation, we need to put the sport in a position in which, at any stage, be it trackside or be it factory-side, teams behave in a totally autonomous manner, because this is a Constructors' Championship.
"This needs to be definitely addressed. But at no point I have elements now to say RB went for the fastest lap to support the Red Bull. I just find it a little, how to say, peculiar. I did not see it coming.
"I was a little surprised that the highest priority of RB racing in Singapore was to go and score the fastest lap of the race. I think we just have to work harder to make sure that this championship doesn't come down to a point.
"At the same time, I have so much sympathy, support and friendship with Daniel that I'm just happy that he may add this fastest lap to his track record."
"Given this may have been Daniel's last race, we wanted to give him the chance to savour it and go out with the fastest lap," said RB team principal Laurent Mekies.
While Christian Horner preferred not to comment, other than saying "you'd have to ask VCARB about that", Sergio Perez admitted that Red Bull had considered a late stop for him in order that he might secure the point.
"I don't know what happened," he said. "I think the team was discussing it, but I think in the end we decided to stay as it was decided anyway. I think the team was thinking about it but in the end it didn't happen."
Check out our Sunday gallery from Marina Bay here.