Daniel Ricciardo Apologizes to Nico Hulkenberg After Italian GP Collision: A Race Marred by Penalties and Frustrations for RB Team

Daniel Ricciardo comments on his collision with Nico Hulkenberg: “I believed we had sufficient room; I said sorry”

Daniel Ricciardo responds to the incident involving Haas at the F1 Italian Grand Prix

Daniel Ricciardo mentioned that he apologized to Nico Hulkenberg after they collided on the first lap of the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix.

Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo was competing against Nico Hulkenberg in the middle of the field during the first lap of Sunday’s race at Monza when they collided at Turn 8.

Ricciardo mentioned that he believed there was enough room, but then experienced a collision – resulting in Hulkenberg's Haas being pushed onto the dirt and losing a position to his teammate, Kevin Magnussen.

The Australian driver received a five-second penalty for the incident. However, he was subsequently required to serve a 10-second penalty because one of his mechanics made contact with his car while he was serving the initial penalty during his pitstop.

Ricciardo concluded a challenging race at his home circuit for the Red Bull team in 13th place.

He stated that they were not fast enough today, regardless of the penalties.

“We gave it a shot, and I was having fun battling closely at the beginning, but then I collided with Nico in Turn 8.

"After the race, I talked to him. I initially believed we had enough space, but I felt the collision, so I realized I didn't leave him sufficient room. I apologized for that."

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

"The car seemed fine afterward, and we gave it everything we had. Since Friday afternoon, I've been pushing to get the most out of the vehicle."

"From my perspective, I feel significantly improved this weekend, and we nearly managed to earn some points."

Tsunoda Felt 'Frustrated'

Red Bull’s performance at the Italian Grand Prix was heavily influenced by Hulkenberg, stated team member Laurent Mekies. A crash involving Haas driver Hulkenberg and Yuki Tsunoda led to the Japanese driver being unable to finish the race.

“I’m quite upset because my race ended just a few laps in after colliding with Nico,” Tsunoda expressed.

"I attempted to give him ample room, but it appeared he froze up, leading to a loss of control and a collision with me."

"Regrettably, we had to withdraw the car from the race due to damage sustained to the floor."

"I noticed it immediately and attempted to keep going, but the vehicle was skidding and I just couldn't control it."

"We're heading to Baku and Singapore next, and our car is expected to perform well at those tracks. We're optimistic about having successful weekends there."

Mekies is upset about the Tsunoda incident because it caused him to lose important track time with the upgraded 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 for pushing him off the track. Following that incident, Nico collided with Yuki, which resulted in us having to retire the car," he stated.

"The most exasperating part of Yuki's retirement is missing out on 40 laps that could have enhanced our grasp of the new updates we implemented at this event."

"Daniel was given an additional 10-second penalty because we didn't properly carry out the initial one."

"We must reassess our processes in light of this situation and take lessons from the error made today. Such incidents occur, but overall, our pit crew's performance has been outstanding this season."

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