Daniel Ricciardo said he had constructive discussions with Formula One over the decision to broadcast extensive replays of Romain Grosjean’s fiery crash at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Ricciardo was angered by the footage of the accident, which Grosjean miraculously managed to escape with relatively minor injuries. Grosjean’s wife Marion thanked Ricciardo for his comments on their return to the paddock this week.
Grosjean is missing this weekend’s Sakhir Grand Prix as a result but is hoping to race at the final event of the season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Dec. 13.
Ricciardo spoke to F1’s head of marketing and comunications Ellie Norman and was happy with how the discussions went and that she was receptive to the point he originally made.
« I spoke with Ellie on Thursday evening, » Ricciardo said. « Already after Sunday they offered to come and chat but last Sunday there was a lot going on, so I wanted to postpone it.
« I think it was certainly worthwhile hearing them out, because I do not want to blast them in the media and then run away from them. I chatted for half an hour with Ellie and she went through a lot of stuff, and I gave my feedback.
« There was nothing like confronting, she was very understanding and appreciative and accepted my concerns as well. She did not push back; she was just trying to listen and learn how they can maybe do things differently. But she also talked me through the reasons why they broadcast what they did. I’m sure there are some things we can take from it.
« One thing was… and actually maybe some broadcasters do it… kind of like a bit of a warning to preempt the audience, like there’s going to be some graphic images, and that way if you have younger kids you have a bit of time to maybe pull them away from the TV or something.
« Ross Brawn mentioned there is something like that, or there is a little bit of a context in place. It was productive they did not attack me or anything like that, so was quite a worthwhile thing. They deserve for me to hear them out. »
Although other drivers did not speak up on the issue, Ricciardo is sure he was not alone at feeling uneasy at the replays.
« I feel like some drivers I don’t want to see are too proud or too brave, but I’m sure a lot of us felt it.
« That question of getting back in the car? The answer is no. But I just wanted them to consider everything going through what we have to go through as well. »
https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/30455517/ricciardo-happy-worthwhile-talks-f1-grosjean-crash-replays
