Ricciardo calls for paddock guidelines to help shield drivers

The surge in popularity of Formula 1 around the world in recent years is leading to growing problems in the paddock, according ot a number of drivers including McLaren's Daniel Ricciardo.

F1 used to be criticised for keeping a large distance between drivers and fans compared to more populist motorsports series like IndyCar abd NASCAR.

Former CEO Bernie Ecclestone was positively miserly in handing out paddock passes to anyone not directly involved in the running of the race, declaring that F1 was a "five-star Michelin restaurant, not a hamburger joint."

• Read also: Gasly calls out intrusive fans in Mexican GP paddock

But that approach has changed under new owners Liberty, and the paddock had become significantly more crowded with drivers unhappy about being mobbed by enthusiastic fans at recent events.

Top flight packages allowing wealthy guests access to the Paddock Club and F1 Experiences can bring in over $6,000 per person for the three days - but it comes at a cost.

“This year has got more hectic,” Ricciardo said in Mexico. "I do like having an atmosphere, I think it should be a fun place to be.

"But there should also be boundaries," he added. "It’s a privilege and you also should act with some maturity and respect. That hasn’t always been shown this year. People lose their minds.

"They should at least have some guidelines like ‘these are the kind of the rules inside the paddock’. I don’t want security to be honest, I don’t want to be walking in a huddle and just walking through people. I want to be able to have photos and sign.

“I think if everyone’s just says, ‘please, thank you,’ and shows a little bit of respect, then we’ll keep obviously giving them that in return.

“I honestly do catch myself calling people out way too often for not saying please or thank you. They just run up, don’t say a word, do what they have to, and then go. For that you feel like a little bit ‘used’.

“I think if they set some guidelines maybe that helps, because there aren’t any at the moment," he pointed out.

"If it’s just a bit of awareness, then maybe they’ll be a little cooler. I don’t want to see it change. I just think adults need to act like adults.” with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc offering similar thoughts.

The McLaren driver wasn't along in his comments.

“There are loads of people in the paddock, It’s good because it shows how much more interest there is in F1," said te Monegasque driver. “It’s always been crazy here [in Mexico], but especially this year.

"Maybe we need to find something [that would let] us to walk a bit easier in the paddock.”

“I love having the fans around me,” his team mate Carlos Sainz said. “I love having everyone around us cheering us, especially I guess because I’m Latin, we have a kind of a special relationship.

“I only ask everyone to stay calm, that we are in a paddock, that they don’t push or don’t shout too much," he added.

Last weekend Pierre Gasly complained after finding that his personal bag had been opened on several occasions by inquisitive fans, and urged them to show more respect towards the drivers.

And Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff - as much a centre of attention in Mexico as many of the superstar drivers - felt there was a bigger, more serious concern.

"For us in a daily routine, it’s more complex to get to the garage, or use scooters," he said. "They jump in front of the scooter. That is an experience that I didn’t get before.

“But we need to be so grateful and humbled that we have such a strong following. I remember times when there was no one interested in the paddock a few years ago!

"Here [in Mexico] we have great enthusiasm and passion and emotion. The downsides are people trying to get a little bit closer than what you would think - I’d take it every day of the week.

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