Ricky Collard Criticizes Osamu Kawashima and Team VERTU

Ricky Collard has poked at Osamu Kawashima’s driving on Instagram during his first weekend out of Team VERTU’s British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) Hyundai.

Collard, who faced budget struggles throughout the 2026 season, departed the team after an extension took him through to the Croft weekend. Team VERTU subsequently appointed 57-year-old Kawashima as a reserve driver, later confirming he would race in the Silverstone and Brands Hatch GP rounds. Kawashima is the first Japanese driver in the BTCC since Kunimitsu Takahashi in 1985.

Ahead of his debut, Kawashima tested the Hyundai i30N Fastback at Snetterton and described the opportunity as a dream coming true. However, following an off-the-pace Free Practice session at Silverstone, Collard shared a fan's post criticizing Team VERTU for replacing him and expressed his dissatisfaction with seeing his car driven in last place, three seconds off the pace.