Daniel Ricciardo has urged F1 fans not to cheer crashes in light of recent behaviour amongst certain members of the crowd over the Austrian Grand Prix weekend. Some fans in the grandstands were heard cheering when Lewis Hamilton crashed out of Q3 in Friday's qualifying, whilst Max Verstappen was on the receiving end of booing at Silverstone one week earlier. The incidences have sparked discussion amongst many in the sport, with Hamilton critical of those who cheered his accident as well as the fans who booed Verstappen.
Ricciardo calls for fans not to cheer accidents
Ricciardo has given his take on the issue, and acknowledges that cheering a crash is very different territory to showing support in a rivalry. "I think an accident, that falls into a bit of a different kind of territory," Ricciardo told media, including RacingNews365.com . "For sure, rivalries are great, and the Lewis/Max one, especially last year, was awesome. It's like any sport, you're always going to have for and against. "I think on-track battles and that, to be cheered or whatever, is cool. I've never been a fan of booing, so I don't condone booing. "But of course, you're going to have the ones you like, and the ones that you don't necessarily root for. But I think, in an accident, you wish not to see it."
F1 drivers are "human beings"
Ricciardo has reminded fans that drivers are human beings, just like everybody else. "I'm not going to control the grandstands and all of their emotions," the Australian continued. "In terms of the rivalry and that, it obviously does make the sport, and the fans getting behind their driver. That's good to see. "But I guess there's probably a time and place and that's not something that I would wish to see. And even obviously, when we are not involved, and I'm happy not to be involved in a situation like that. "We're human beings, and I think people have to remember that sometimes."
"You have to be a little more sensible"
Whilst accepting that fans can get caught up in the moment, Ricciardo has encouraged those in the crowd to think carefully about their behaviour. "It's easy when you're in the crowd all day and obviously have had a few beers and that, and if the guy next to you does that, then you think it's okay that you can do it," the McLaren driver added. "But I feel like you get to an age where you also get mature and you realise that okay, those things what I did when I was 15, I shouldn't be doing as a 30-year-old man. "So you kind of just have to be a little more sensible."
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