Daniel Ricciardo, Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton, F1, Mercedes, Red Bull has given his championship bid a boost on Sunday following another sensational win at the Belgian Grand Prix at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Stavelot, Belgium.
However, the Australian's back-to-back triumph was overshadowed by a controversial clash between Mercedes teammates Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton that forced the latter retiring from the race with four of the 44 laps left.
Ricciardo came through with another dominant performance in Belgium, finishing 3.38 seconds ahead of Rosberg to back up his victories at the Canadian Grand Prix and Hungarian Grand Prix this year.
Many F1 experts and fans believed Ricciardo's bid to win a championship in his first season with Red Bull vanished after the FIA Court of Appeal upheld the decision to disqualify the 25-year old driver at the Australian Grand Prix that took away 18 points from him.
However, the Aussie' perseverance and never-say-die attitude has been evident over the past two races, keeping him striking distance to snatch the victory from Rosberg - who might have lost some respect from his teammates and fans.
"Back home, there is a huge following for F1, but this is almost as many Aussie flags as there was in Melbourne," Ricciardo told reporters after his victory. "So thanks so much. It is a bit different when you lead the race for that long, it's more about composure and trying to keep steady.
Mercedes Controversy
Mercedes heads Niki Lauda and Toto Wolff condemned Rosberg's haphazard manoeuvre in the second lap that punctured Hamilton's car, calling it completely unacceptable. Wolff added that they often discussed this kind situation before and he couldn't believed these things happened between the two Mercedes drivers.
Lauda also expressed the same voice as Wolff, as he believed Rosberg's action not only cost Lewis' bid to become a world champion again but also the entire Mercedes in the constructors' championship,
"There is going to be a meeting at 16.45, but it is unacceptable. If these things happen at the end of the race, when they are fighting for the win then you discuss it, but in the second lap to hand the victory to Red Bull," Lauda said.
The Red Bull chief added the misfortunate event could have been avoided, believing a 'slap on the wrist' was not enough to rectify the situation. He then fired a warning to Rosberg about facing consequences if these things happen again in the future.
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