Daniel Ricciardo Apologises Following First-Lap Collision with Nico Hulkenberg at Monza

Daniel Ricciardo comments on collision with Nico Hulkenberg: “I believed there was enough room; I said sorry”

Daniel Ricciardo responds to the incident involving Haas at the Italian Grand Prix in Formula 1.

Daniel Ricciardo mentioned that he offered an apology to Nico Hulkenberg after the two collided on the first lap of the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix.

Red Bull driver Ricciardo found himself in a tussle with Hulkenberg in the middle of the pack during the first lap of Sunday’s race at Monza, culminating in a collision at Turn 8.

Ricciardo mentioned that he believed he had enough room, but then he felt an impact – which resulted in Hulkenberg's Haas being pushed onto the dirt, allowing Kevin Magnussen, his teammate, to pass.

The Australian racer received a five-second penalty for the incident, but later had to serve an additional 10-second penalty because one of his mechanics touched his car during the initial penalty at his pitstop.

Ricciardo wrapped up a challenging race at home for the Red Bull team, finishing in 13th place.

“In the end, our speed wasn’t sufficient today, even without factoring in the penalties,” he stated.

"We gave it a go, and I was having fun racing side by side early on, but then I collided with Nico at Turn 8."

"After the race, I talked to him and initially believed we had enough space, but when I felt the collision, I realized I hadn't given him sufficient room. I apologized for that."

"It's challenging because you put in a lot of effort, but even the tiniest differences matter."

"The vehicle performed reasonably well afterward, and we exerted maximum effort with the resources available. From Friday afternoon until today, I aimed to extract the best possible performance from the car."

"I personally feel much better this weekend, and we were nearly able to earn some points."

Tsunoda Feels Frustrated

Laurent Mekies from Red Bull stated that the Italian Grand Prix was heavily influenced by Nico Hulkenberg, as an incident involving the Haas driver and Yuki Tsunoda led to the Japanese racer's early exit from the competition.

Yuki Tsunoda expressed his frustration, stating that it was unfortunate his race ended just a few laps in because of a collision with Nico.

"I attempted to give plenty of room, but it appeared he froze up, resulting in him losing control and colliding with me."

"Regrettably, we were forced to withdraw the car due to damage sustained on the floor."

"As soon as I felt it, I attempted to keep going, but the car was skidding and I just couldn't handle it."

"Upcoming races in Baku and Singapore are next on our schedule, and our car is expected to do well at these venues. We're optimistic about having successful weekends."

Mekies is upset about the Tsunoda incident because it caused him to lose important track time with the newly updated RB car that was brought to Monza.

"Regarding today's race, it can be said that Hulkenberg set the pace. Daniel received a five-second penalty after pushing him off the track, and subsequently, Nico collided with Yuki, which resulted in us having to retire the car," he stated.

"The most exasperating part about Yuki’s retirement is that we missed out on 40 laps that would have enhanced our knowledge of the updates we brought here."

"Daniel subsequently got another 10-second penalty due to an error in carrying out the initial penalty."

"We must re-evaluate our processes in this situation and take lessons from the error made today. While incidents like this can occur, our pit crew's performance has been outstanding overall this season."

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