Australia Racer Daniel Ricciardo Triumphs at Belgium Grand Prix, Mercedes Teammates Clash into Each Other
Australian F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo won the Belgian Grand Prix but it was the runner-up who got the majority of media attention.
World championship leading man Nico Rosberg was accused of deliberately colliding with Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton on the second lap. It was Hamilton himself who accused his leader of malpractice. Spectators booed Rosberg on Sunday as he finished as the runner-up. Hamilton had to retire with a damaged car.
Red Bull's Ricciardo, on the other hand, continued his winning run as this was the third straight win for him. He had an impressive win at the Canadian Grand Prix in June and in Hungary in July. He was visibly elated after the win he was welcome with cheers. "It's been a really good day for us on a track we didn't expect to get maximum points from, so yeah, it'll keep us smiling for a while," he said.
Rosberg managed to puncture Hamilton's tyre on the second lap. The German racer ran on to the British who had to retire before finishing the race. Rosberg apparently misjudged a passing move, and that resulted in the accident. Red Bull, nevertheless, managed to secure its 50th win in Formula One. Mercedes team chief Niki Lauda later said that he had apologised to Hamilton. "A bad result for Lewis and a bad result for the Mercedes team," he said.
The Mercedes has apparently been a victim of the inner rivalry between its two of its major players. Even though Rosberg and Hamilton were expected to the major forces in the competition, they seemed to have been responsible for damaging their own possibilities. Hamilton spoke to reporters after he had had a meeting Rosberg along with bosses.
Hamilton told reporters that Rosberg had admitted to running on to him on purpose. "We just had a meeting about it and he basically said he did it on purpose. He said he did it on purpose," Hamilton said, "He said he could have avoided it. He said 'I did it to prove a point'." Mercedes motorsport chief Toto Wolf, on the other hand, condemned the incident.
Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au
