During the start of the race there was a collision between Daniel Ricciardo and Alex Albon. Ricciardo said he had not seen Alex Albon. According to Ricciardo, his race would have looked completely different if he had started on the soft tyre compound rather than the medium.
“The medium tyre ensured that we were swallowed up,” Ricciardo begins his review of the start of the race. “It was strange because the cars in front of us seemed to be getting away well, it just seemed like Yuki and I didn’t have as much grip as expected.”
“As soon as we drove away, I saw Bottas and Hulkenberg coming between us and going around. And then in the first corner, I was in the middle with Yuki and an Alpine, so by the second corner I thought let’s just keep the position and as soon as I hit the gas I was still struggling.”
“Then I think Stroll was on my outside, I tried to hold him off.”
“When I then gained some ground towards the third corner, Albon was suddenly there. I looked at his onboard footage. I don’t even know if he wanted to be there. But his traction was so much better on the soft than I had, and he probably thought there was room until there wasn’t.”
“I didn’t see him. I always assume there might be someone there; it’s the first lap after all, so I never try to use the full width of the circuit and be ignorant. But there was clearly not enough room.”
Ricciardo admits that in retrospect, starting on the medium tyre may not have been the best choice and that the start and the start of the race could have been completely different on the soft tyre compound.
“All things considered, if we could turn back the clock I would have started on the soft tyre compound,” said Ricciardo. “But to be clear, I wanted to start on the medium. That’s not something I’ve gone against. But knowing what we know now, the soft tyre compound would have been much better.”
The stewards investigated the collision between Ricciardo and Alex Albon and the subsequent crash, but it was decided not to impose a penalty and treat it as a racing incident.