Ricciardo Apologises to Hulkenberg After Italian GP Clash; RB Team Faces Tough Race at Monza

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

Daniel Ricciardo addresses the confrontation with Haas during the F1 Italian Grand Prix

Daniel Ricciardo has stated that he offered an apology to Nico Hulkenberg for their lap-one crash during the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix.

During the initial lap of Sunday's race at Monza, RB team's Ricciardo found himself competing against Hulkenberg in the middle group when they collided at Turn 8.

Ricciardo believed there was enough room, yet experienced a collision – leading to Hulkenberg's Haas being pushed onto the gravel and subsequently losing a position to his teammate Kevin Magnussen.

The individual from Australia received an initial penalty of five seconds for the incident, but was further penalized with an additional 10-second penalty after it was found that one of his team mechanics made contact with his car during the time he was fulfilling the original penalty at his pit stop.

Ricciardo concluded a challenging domestic race for the RB team in 13th position.

"In the end, our speed just wasn't there today, penalties aside," he commented.

"We gave it our best shot, and initially, I really liked the close racing. However, I ended up colliding with Nico at Turn 8."

"After the race, I had a conversation with him. I believed there was sufficient space between us, yet I sensed the touch and realized I hadn't allowed him ample space. I offered my apologies for that."

"Competing fiercely is challenging because even the slightest details can have an impact."

"After the incident, the car seemed fine, and we gave it our all given the circumstances. From Friday afternoon until today, my focus was on extracting the fullest potential from the vehicle."

"I personally feel much improved this weekend, and we were on the verge of earning points."

Tsunoda Felt Aggravated

The course of RB's Italian Grand Prix was "controlled by Hulkenberg", said team official Laurent Mekies, following an incident where the Haas competitor collided with Yuki Tsunoda, leading to the premature conclusion of the race for the driver from Japan.

Tsunoda expressed his disappointment, lamenting that his race ended shortly after it began due to a collision with Nico.

"I made an effort to maintain ample distance, yet it appears he panicked, leading to a loss of control and ultimately colliding into me.

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

"Immediately, I sensed something was off and attempted to keep going, but the vehicle was drifting and I just couldn't control it."

"Up next are Baku and Singapore, where we anticipate our car will excel, leading to promising weekends ahead."

Mekies' irritation regarding the Tsunoda situation arises because he missed crucial time on the track with the upgraded RB vehicle that was introduced at Monza.

In today's race, it appeared that Hulkenberg played a significant role, with Daniel receiving a five-second penalty for pushing him off the track. This was followed by Nico colliding with Yuki, which ultimately led to the team deciding to retire the car, he explained.

The most aggravating part of Yuki's retirement is the loss of 40 laps, which would have deepened our comprehension of the updates we implemented at this location.

Daniel was subsequently given an additional 10-second penalty due to our failure to properly implement the initial one.

"In this case, it's essential that we reassess our methods and take lessons from the error we encountered today. Such incidents do occur, yet overall, the performance of our pit crew has been outstanding throughout the season."

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