As the lights went out for the United States Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo had an intense fight with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. The two were pushing each other to the limit and even touched wheels.

This enraged the Spanish driver, who stated that Ricciardo was a “dirty driver” on the team radio. However, instead of firing back at Sainz, Ricciardo took the criticism in a sarcastic manner.

Daniel Ricciardo is fine with Sainz calling him a “dirty driver”

It is natural to get frustrated with your rival on the grid, especially when they come in contact with you on the track. This time it was Sainz who was annoyed at the Australian and complained about him on the radio.

Sainz said on the team radio, “He got a bit dirty. He did that on purpose guys. Yeah, but he was on purpose.”

Responding to Sainz’s radio rant, the Honey Badger chose to lighten the situation.

As quoted by Motorsport, he said, “That’s cool. I’m happy to be dirty. I’m a nice guy, so being dirty every now and then is alright!”

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The Australian reflects on his race in Austin

The McLaren driver started the race in sixth place and was hoping to gain a few places. However, he only managed to finish fifth, and bag ten points for the Woking-based outfit. Additionally, Daniel reveals how tough it was to push around COTA as the tires didn’t offer a lot of grip.

He said, “It was definitely tricky, because when you come out of the pits on a new set, you have a little more grip. But if you use it early, then it drops away even quicker. It was a race where you never really felt you could push.”

Now, with the US Grand Prix done and dusted, Ricciardo turns his attention to the upcoming Mexican Grand Prix, where he aims to have a better finish than the one achieved in Austin.

What are your predictions for the Australian for the upcoming race? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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