Formula 1 officials have admitted that Lance Stroll should have been penalised for his Styrian Grand Prix pass of Daniel Ricciardo, according to the Australian.
Ricciardo stated that he would raise the matter in the drivers' briefing at this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix, and it is there where Race Director Michael Masi is said to have told the field that Stroll's pass should have been deemed a breach.
The concession is nevertheless a tough pill to swallow for the Renault driver after both he and Stroll left the track when the Racing Point pilot went for a move late in the second Red Bull Ring race.
“If it happens again today then we'd swap positions,” said Ricciardo.
“I think after the facts, they accepted that they would have done something different.
“But, once Sunday night passes and Monday rolls over, the results are fixed. And you can't go back and switch positions or anything. So obviously a bit frustrated.
“There is a little bit of comfort knowing that that wouldn't stick, moving forward. So, I guess we can take that.
“But, I just felt like at the time, it should have been more clear and more obvious.
“And some of the conversation was also around me going off the track. But obviously, it wasn't my choice. I didn't drive off there for good fun.
“And we discussed it. They basically admitted they would do it differently next time.”
The pass was somewhat reminiscent of that which decided the preceding year's Austrian Grand Prix, when stewards confirmed hours after the fact that Max Verstappen's move on Charles Leclerc was indeed legal.
Ricciardo reasons that they were sufficiently different incidents that one should not have set a precedent for the other.
“It doesn't help me now, or a few days ago, but I think that they are aware that there's a difference between that incident and the Leclerc/Verstappen incident last year, and that's the big one, it's the same corner,” he argued.
“And it's still a very different outcome of the incident. So I think they're aligned with that now, it's not the same.
“At first, I think they did feel it was the same, which is why the initial penalty wasn't given.”
Ricciardo is set to line up 11th on the grid for tonight's race at the Hungaroring, which starts at 23:10 AEST.