As the race restarted on Lap 27, the cars gathered closely before turning into the hairpin. That’s when Stroll, driving car number 18, hit Ricciardo from behind. The impact lifted Ricciardo’s car into the air, causing serious damage. Another driver, Oscar Piastri from the McLaren team, was also affected by the collision, which hurt his race too.
The race stewards quickly decided that Stroll was at fault. They gave him a 10-second penalty and added two more penalty points to his record. This brought his total points to seven in the last year.
The stewards explained, “We determined that Car 18 ought to have anticipated the pace of the cars in front, particularly Car 3, and should have prepared to brake accordingly. Had it done that, it would have avoided the collision. Hence Car 18 was predominantly to blame for the collision that ultimately led to Car 3 having to retire from the race.”
Ricciardo wasn’t happy with Stroll’s actions. He said, “I felt like Stroll’s lack of responsibility made my blood boil.”
Stroll defended himself, suggesting that the stewards should have considered the circumstances more. He mentioned that the cars in front suddenly slowed down due to a chain reaction. Stroll explained, “There was a really odd concertina effect that I would have liked to see the stewards take into consideration maybe a little bit more.”
He clarified that he was not intentionally careless, saying, “It’s not like everything was normal and I just slammed into the back of him.” Stroll felt unfortunate because he was ready for the restart, but the sudden slowdown caught him off guard.
Stroll believed he was on track for a decent finish despite the incident. He acknowledged that Aston Martin still struggles to compete with McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Alonso, Stroll’s teammate, finished seventh after trying a three-stop strategy. Stroll summarized, “We were on for eighth or ninth, so pretty normal for where the car is. We’re not bad, we’re making progress.” He emphasized the team’s need to keep improving and aiming for better performances each race weekend.
