Daniel Ricciardo Apologizes for Hulkenberg Clash Amid Penalty Troubles at Italian GP

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

Daniel Ricciardo addresses the encounter with Haas during the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix

Daniel Ricciardo mentioned that he apologized to Nico Hulkenberg after the first lap collision they had during the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix.

Red Bull driver Ricciardo was competing against Hulkenberg in the middle of the pack during the first lap of Sunday's race at Monza when the two collided at Turn 8.

Ricciardo mentioned he believed there was enough room, but then experienced a collision – causing Hulkenberg's Haas to be pushed onto the dirt and lose a position to his teammate, Kevin Magnussen.

The Australian driver received a five-second penalty for the incident, but later faced an additional 10-second penalty because one of his mechanics touched his car during the initial penalty at his pit stop.

Ricciardo concluded a challenging race on home turf for the Red Bull team, finishing in 13th place.

"We simply weren't fast enough today, even disregarding the penalties," he stated.

"We gave it our best shot, and I was having fun with the close racing at the beginning, but then I collided with Nico at Turn 8."

"I talked to him after the race. I believed there was enough space, but I felt the collision, so I didn't leave him sufficient room, and I said sorry."

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

"The vehicle performed satisfactorily afterwards, and we exerted maximum effort with the resources available. From Friday afternoon until today, I aimed to extract the utmost performance from the car."

"I personally feel much better this weekend, and we came very close to earning points."

Tsunoda Departs Feeling 'Frustrated'

According to Laurent Mekies from the RB team, the Italian Grand Prix was largely influenced by Hulkenberg. A clash between Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg and Yuki Tsunoda led to the Japanese driver's race coming to an early end.

"I'm really annoyed; it's unfortunate that my race effectively ended just a few laps in because of a collision with Nico," Tsunoda expressed.

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

“Regrettably, we had to withdraw the car due to damage sustained on the floor.

"I sensed it immediately and made an effort to keep going, but the vehicle was skidding and I just couldn't control it."

"We're heading to Baku and Singapore soon, and our car is expected to do well on those tracks. Hopefully, we'll have successful weekends coming up."

Mekies' annoyance regarding the Tsunoda incident originates from the loss of crucial track time with the newly updated RB car that was introduced at Monza.

“Regarding today's race, it could be said that Hulkenberg controlled the events. Daniel received a five-second penalty for pushing him off the track. Following that, Nico collided with Yuki, which resulted in us having to retire the car,” he stated.

"The most disappointing part about Yuki’s retirement is that we missed out on 40 laps that could have helped us learn more about the new updates we implemented here."

"Daniel was given an additional 10-second penalty due to an error in the application of the initial penalty."

“We will have to reassess our protocols in this situation and gain insights from the error made today. While these incidents occur, our pit crew's performance has mostly been outstanding this season.”

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