Daniel Ricciardo has criticised the “idiots” producing Formula 1’s social media content for focusing on crashes.
The Australian has been particularly vocal about the topic after heavily slamming the constant replays of Romain Grosjean’s crash in Bahrain during the red flag period last year, when all drivers were stood in the pitlane.
In fact, after the event, Ricciardo even spoke with F1 about the coverage that was broadcast.
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And now the McLaren driver has turned his attention to social media, believing the sport should be above trying to promote itself through such content.
“I think last year, F1 put on their social channels like the ‘top 10 moments of the year’ or something, and eight of the 10 were crashes,” Ricciardo said speaking with Square Mile.
“I was just like, you guys are f**king idiots. Maybe 12-year-old kids want to see that kind of content, and that’s cool because they don’t know any better, but we’re not kids. Just do better, guys. Do better than that.”
In the same interview, Ricciardo also criticised F1’s Netflix series Drive to Survive for trying to push narratives that didn’t exist.
“I mean the second season, there were some episodes or parts where I feel they forced it a little bit,” he explained.
“They tried to create a bit of a rivalry between me and [Carlos] Sainz and it wasn’t really there. Like, he’s no more a rival than anyone else.
“There wasn’t any personal grudge with him, but I think [Netflix] wanted something, so a lot of questions led with asking about Carlos. Maybe no one noticed, but for me, I was like, he’s fine.
“I’ve probably got other guys that I dislike, you know, as opposed to Carlos… I mean, he dresses like a 60-year-old, but otherwise, he’s alright.”