Daniel Ricciardo penalized along with Pierre Gasly after 2022 F1 Brazilian GP

Daniel Ricciardo and Pierre Gasly have been penalized for their transgressions at the 2022 F1 Brazilian GP. Gasly received a 5-second time penalty for a somewhat minor offense of 'speeding in the pitlane', while Ricciardo received a 3-place grid penalty in the next race for his collision with Kevin Magnussen.

Daniel Ricciardo collided with the Haas driver on the very first lap that led to retirement for both drivers. The stewards judged the Australian to be solely responsible for the crash and hence handed him the penalty. The stewards' report read:

"Ricciardo made contact with Magnussen at Turn 8 on lap one, which caused Magnussen to spin, and subsequently both cars crashed. McLaren explained that in their view Magnussen was slower at the exit of Turn 8 than the other cars ahead, which made it difficult to judge the closing rate, as the two cars interacted. Ricciardo explained that in his view, he had slowed sufficiently that he was not going to collide with Magnussen and that he slightly misjudged it. The Stewards acknowledged that the incident was not reckless. However, they determined that the incident was between two cars and was not influenced by multiple other cars and is therefore not a 'first lap incident'."

"The Stewards determined that Magnussen drove in a normal manner for that corner, and that he did not make any erratic moves. Thus the Stewards determine that Ricciardo was wholly to blame for the incident and issue a drop of three grid places for the next event."

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Daniel Ricciardo reflects on his early retirement from the race

Daniel Ricciardo was very disappointed by what was an early exit for him from the race. The driver reflected on the contact with Kevin Magnussen and felt that it was a small mistake that ended up having huge repercussions for him. He said:

"Firstly, I'm disappointed as it's always difficult when your race is over so quickly. I touched the back of Kevin and it's a shame. I think the biggest disappointment is that it was such a small touch, but it had massive consequences. I didn't expect him to spin, I guess that was just the angle that we touched and it just unloaded his rear. I feel most times, a small touch like that, you can get away with it. So it was pretty unfortunate for both of us. It was an eventful race, so, it's a shame not to have been out there. Apologies to the team here and back at home but we will reset and go one more time in Abu Dhabi."

Daniel Ricciardo will be taking part in his last F1 race for some time in Abu Dhabi as he will not feature on the grid next season.