Daniel Ricciardo has copped some criticism over his first public response to the Red Bull “sext” scandal that’s rocked Formula 1.
The Australian is under fire after referring to the ugly saga as “noise and distractions”.
It comes after it emerged on Thursday night that the woman at the centre of the situation was suspended by the reigning world champion team ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
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The woman had accused Red Bull boss Christian Horner of inappropriate behaviour, but the allegations were dismissed by the team’s independent barrister-led investigation.
The verdict that cleared Horner was followed just hours later by the bombshell leaking of hundreds of “sexually suggestive” messages allegedly sent by the 50-year-old team principal.
Despite the public outcry, Red Bull has refused to release the findings of the report with even the team’s senior partners, including engine supplier Honda, being told they will not receive a copy.
No criminal allegations have been made and the woman elected not to appeal the verdict.
The allegations have caused rifts inside the team’s garage with world champion Max Verstappen declining opportunities to speak out in support of Horner.
There have even been suggestions the Dutch driver could leave the team as a result.
The ugly background to the story is why Ricciardo’s comments have caused such outrage.
Speaking on the opening day of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Ricciardo told TV networks, including Belgium’s RTBF, that he hopes the situation will “slowly go away”.
When asked if these “dirty things” can destabilise the team, the Visa CashApp RB driver responded: “You always want things to be smoother than they are.
“Right now there is a lot of noise and distractions, there’s no doubt. The way they performed last week… you would think for them to be able to still focus on business on track, that is a big strength of theirs.
“So, yeah, hopefully these things start to slowly go away, and they can just focus on being a race team. But of course, for the drivers as well it’s not always easy, but I think they did. A good job in handling this.”
Ricciardo entered Formula 1 through the Red Bull development system and had his best seasons with the team before his shock move to Renault.
Horner has always been one of Ricciardo’s biggest supporters and repeatedly spoke up for the 34-year-old during his miserable final year with McLaren.
It is no secret that Ricciardo and Horner have a close friendship and it is one of many reasons chatter will not go away that Ricciardo could replace Sergio Perez in the senior Red Bull team in 2025.
One clip of Ricciardo’s response has been spreading across cyberspace in the last 24 hours with more than 450,000 views.
You can see the clip in the video player above.
The comments section of the video has been flooded with critical comments about the Australian, while veteran Formula 1 figure Matt Bishop is among those to criticise Ricciardo.
“I think his problem is that he isn’t interested in media work so he doesn’t pay much heed to media advisers,” the former McLaren and Aston Martin official said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“But he should do, because ignoring them damages him reputationally.”
One tweet that has 1.1 million views said Ricciardo’s response was “insane”.
One fan wrote: “I love ricciardo but I cannot support anyone who says that. and to everyone saying its just PR, don’t you think that’s much worse? cause what happened to morals”.
Meanwhile, UK-based charity for sexual harassment awareness Gemini Poject has called out Ricciardo and other drivers, including Valtteri Bottas, Lance Stroll, Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg, for failing to take a meaningful stand when asked about the Red Bull scandal.
“In a sport which has many female employees and increasing numbers of female fans this is disappointing to say the least,” the charity said of the comments made by the drivers.
“We stand in solidarity with the victim and urge the FIA to respond appropriately with its own investigation.”
It’s important to note Ricciardo was not specifically asked about the allegations made.
The question he was asked on Thursday was: “You know the Red Bull family very, very good. Do you think these things — these dirty things — can destabilise a team like this one?”
Ricciardo also addressed the issue last week before Horner was cleared.
“Coming into the test, obviously we were aware of everything going on,” he said.
“But would I say was it an on-track distraction? No, it wasn’t. Knowing we have so little time as well, it was really ‘I need to focus on me, my team, my driving’ and trying to start this week as strongly as possible.
“Do I feel for him through all of this? Yes, I’ve known Christian for a long time.
“He’s always been great with me. So I do hope that there is a fair outcome and resolution soon, hopefully before this weekend, so it’s not really a distraction for him or obviously anyone in the team.
“But honestly, for us, we’ve had to really just focus on ourselves and trying to get on with the task.”
It is not the first time Ricciardo has angered some with comments about women.
Ricciardo in October got called “tasteless” for comments made about female drivers when appearing on the Sundae Conversation with Caleb Pressley web series.
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix continues with qualifying on Saturday morning with Ricciardo hoping to improve from his performance in the opening two practice sessions where he finished with the 19th quickest time.
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