Ricciardo Apologises for Hulkenberg Clash Amid Penalty Woes at Italian GP

Daniel Ricciardo reflects on collision with Nico Hulkenberg: "I believed there was enough room; I said sorry."

Daniel Ricciardo comments on the incident involving Haas at the F1 Italian Grand Prix.

Daniel Ricciardo mentioned that he apologized to Nico Hulkenberg after the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix due to a collision that occurred between them on the first lap.

RB driver Ricciardo and Hulkenberg were competing in the middle of the pack during the first lap of Sunday’s race at Monza when they collided at Turn 8.

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

The Australian driver initially received a five-second penalty for the incident. However, he was later handed 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 finished a difficult race at his home circuit for the Red Bull team, securing the 13th position.

"We just didn't have the speed today, even without factoring in the penalties," he stated.

"We gave it a shot, and I was having fun with the close racing early on, but I ended up colliding with Nico at Turn 8."

"After the race, I talked to him and realized that I thought there was enough space, but I felt the impact, so I hadn't left enough room. I apologized for that."

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

"The vehicle performed adequately afterward, and we exerted maximum effort with the resources at our disposal. From Friday afternoon until today, I endeavored to extract the utmost performance from the car."

"From my perspective, I’m feeling much improved this weekend, and we nearly earned some points."

Tsunoda 'frustrated' after race

The Italian Grand Prix for RB was heavily influenced by Hulkenberg, according to team member Laurent Mekies. A crash involving the Haas driver and Yuki Tsunoda resulted in the Japanese driver's race coming to an early end.

"I feel quite upset; it's unfortunate that my race ended just a few laps in because of a collision with Nico," Tsunoda remarked.

"I attempted to maintain a significant distance, but it appeared that he froze, lost control, and collided with me."

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

"I immediately sensed it and attempted to keep going, but the vehicle was skidding, making it impossible for me to control it."

"Next on the schedule are Baku and Singapore, where we expect our car to do well. We're looking forward to successful weekends at both locations."

Mekies' annoyance regarding the Tsunoda incident arises from the lost crucial track time in the upgraded RB car that was introduced at Monza.

"In today's race, Hulkenberg seemed to set the pace. Daniel received a five-second penalty for forcing Hulkenberg off the track. Later, Nico collided with Yuki, which resulted in us having to retire the car," he stated.

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

"Daniel was given an additional 10-second penalty because we did not properly implement the initial penalty."

"We need to reassess our procedures in this situation and take lessons from today's error. While such incidents occur, our pit crew's performance has mostly been outstanding this season."

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