Formula 1 driver slams ‘f—ing idiots’ over crash responses

McLaren Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo again slammed the sport for glorifying accidents far more so than the actual racing product.

After Romain Grosjean’s fiery crash in last November’s Bahrain Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit, one driver took exception to how Formula 1 handled the aftermath of the accident in terms of showing all kinds of replays to fans all over the world watching, specifically the families of the drivers.

“I felt like they could all go F- themselves, to be honest,” said Daniel Ricciardo, who then drove for Renault.

The 2021 season got underway at the same venue on Sunday, March 28 after the original season opener, the Australian Grand Prix, was postponed from Sunday, March 21 to Sunday, November 21 as a result of coronavirus pandemic-related restrictions in Melbourne, Australia.

Ricciardo still feels the same way about how the sport responds to wrecks, even in cases where we have been informed that the drivers involved are alright.

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We’ve all heard of the so-called “fans” who watch races just for the crashes. The 32-year-old Australian believes that the sport is essentially not just showing the replays of the wrecks to show fans what happened but to glorify that kind of activity as opposed to the actual racing product, effectively catering to those individuals.

Discussing a video that Formula 1 posted on the “top 10 moments of the year” last season, which he said featured eight accidents, the McLaren driver did not hold back, calling those in charge “f****** idiots” for their childish glorification of wrecks and calling on them to “do better”.

Here is what he had to say about the matter, according to Motorsport.

"“I think last year, F1 put on their social channels, like, ‘top 10 moments of the year’ or something, and eight of the 10 en were crashes I was just like, you guys are f***ing idiots. Maybe 12-year-old kids want to see that kind of content, and that’s cool because they don’t know any better, but we’re not kids. Just do better, guys. Do better than that.”"

Ricciardo placed seventh in the season opener. Formula 1 is scheduled to be back in action next Sunday, April 18 at Autodromo Internaionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari with the Emilian Romagna Grand Prix, a race in which Ricciardo placed third last year. ESPN is set to broadcast this race live beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET.