Formula One Driver Calls Photographers ‘Idiots’ for Blocking Car
Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo raged at a group of photographers at the Italian Grand Prix this weekend calling them “idiots” for getting in his way as he drove into the pits.
Ricciardo, who is known for his beaming smile and easy-going personality outside of the car, is clearly a different beast inside it after he fumed at the group of pit lane photographers for impeding his path into his garage.
A photographer taking pictures of the garage next door to McLaren’s, the team which Ricciardo races for, is the one that he seemed to be angry with for blocking his line.
a view of the photographers from behind being held back.
Daniel is still mad at the one photographer, saying he “still can’t get deep enough in the box with him there”. pic.twitter.com/IbT9mifKMc
— meredith (@mereeedithh) September 9, 2022
“These f****** idiots man. I’m happy to hit one of them,” Ricciardo raged on the team radio.
His engineer replies: “Photographer was it, Daniel?” The Australian driver replies: “Yes.”
“I still can’t get deep enough in the box with him there,” he continues to vent on the radio against the hapless photographer.
Footage from the rear of Ricciardo’s McLaren shows a pack of cameramen in a busy pit lane.
Formula One drivers are notorious for venting their frustration on the team radio which picks up live, unfettered reactions from drivers as they respond to the events unfolding around them.
While Ricciardo’s sinister threat of running over a photographer appears tongue-in-cheek, it underlines the emotion that Formula One drivers experience while in the cockpit.
looking into becoming a photographer so that daniel ricciardo can run me over without hesitation
— ☺︎ (@nextlevelsteph) September 9, 2022
Ricciardo is having a tough Formula One season with McLaren effectively firing him in recent weeks because of his poor performances in the car. This weekend at Monza did not get much better for the Aussie driver after an oil leak put an end to his race with just a few laps to go. The race was won by world champion Max Verstappen who looks to have an unassailable lead in this year’s championship.
Image credits:Photo of Daniel Ricciardo licensed via Depositphotos.
