Daniel Ricciardo was forced to steer away from RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda as a intra-team feud kicked off at the end of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The Formula One season opener ended with the pair out of the points in 13th and 14th, but the lowly positions did not come without their own late drama.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Daniel Ricciardo narrowly avoids crash with furious teammate.
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Tsunoda had been ahead when he was ordered by the team to swap positions with Ricciardo in what the Australian suggested was always on the cards.
But the Japanese driver at first refused to comply, determined to keep fighting Haas’s Kevin Magnussen for 12th, and was audibly frustrated when he finally did.
“Yeah, thanks guys, I appreciate it,” Tsunoda said sarcastically, before quickly claiming Ricciardo was “not fast, not fast at all”.
The 23-year-old evidently remained aggrieved after the chequered flag. Told he had finished 14th, Tsunoda said “yeah, whatever” and proceeded to speed past Ricciardo with an attacking dive-bomb.
He locked up his front right tyre, allowing Ricciardo to move in front on the exit, only to put the foot down again and force the Aussie to steer right to avoid a crash.
“What, what the f*** is wrong? Sorry. I’ll save it. He’s a f***ing helmet,” Ricciardo initially exclaimed.
Ricciardo said the positional swap was always on the cards following pre-race discussions inside the team. Credit: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images
Ricciardo admitted “a bit of immaturity” came out in his attempt to “stay cool”.
“Tsunoda’s obviously frustrated with the team orders call, but let’s be real, this is something we talk about before the race,” he added.
“It was very likely I was going to use the soft (tyre) at the end of the race, so he knew that there was a chance that I would have a pace advantage at the end, and if he gets a call, it’s going to happen.
“He’s also not giving me points, we’re fighting for 13th, so at least give us the best chance to get at least one car in the points.”
Tsunoda later denied he was close to crashing with Ricciardo but refused to otherwise explain his actions.
He said the pre-race plan had also involved reversing the positional swap if Ricciardo failed to progress.
“To be honest, I don’t understand the team’s thoughts,” he said.
“So I have to understand what they were thinking, but so far I don’t understand.”
Max Verstappen won the race in dominant fashion ahead of teammate Sergio Perez while Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz rounded out the podium.
Australia’s Oscar Piastri finished where he started in eighth.
The F1 season continues next weekend with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which will also take place on Saturday ahead of Ramadan.
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