Ricciardo Apologizes After Controversial Hulkenberg Clash at Italian GP; Tsunoda’s Frustration Grows Amid Haas Collision

Daniel Ricciardo discusses 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 drivers collided on the first lap of the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix.

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

Ricciardo mentioned that he believed he had enough room, but then experienced a collision, which resulted 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, during his pitstop, one of his mechanics touched his car while he was serving the initial penalty, leading to an additional 10-second penalty.

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

"In the end, our speed was lacking today, even without taking the penalties into account," he stated.

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

"After the race, I had a conversation with him. I believed there was enough space, but I felt the contact, indicating that I didn't provide sufficient room, so I apologized."

"It's challenging because you push yourself to the limit, but even the tiniest differences can be crucial."

"The car was functioning well afterward, and we did our best with the resources available. From Friday afternoon until today, I aimed to extract the car's full potential."

"I’m feeling significantly improved this weekend, and we nearly earned some points."

Tsunoda 'Disappointed'

The Italian Grand Prix for RB was heavily influenced by Hulkenberg, said team member Laurent Mekies, after a crash involving the Haas driver and Yuki Tsunoda led to the Japanese driver's early exit from the race.

“I’m quite annoyed; it’s unfortunate that my race ended just a few laps in because of a collision with Nico,” stated Tsunoda.

"I attempted to give him plenty of room, but it looked like he froze, lost control, and collided with me."

"Regrettably, we had to pull the car out of the race due to damage sustained on the floor."

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

"We're heading to Baku and Singapore next, where our vehicle is expected to perform strongly. We are optimistic about having successful weekends there."

Mekies is upset about the Tsunoda incident because it cost him important time on the track with the upgraded RB car that was taken to Monza.

"Regarding today's race, it can be noted that Hulkenberg set the pace. Daniel received a five-second penalty for pushing him off the track, after which Nico collided with Yuki, causing us to withdraw the car," he stated.

"The most disappointing part of Yuki's retirement is missing out on 40 laps that could have given us more insight into the new updates we implemented here."

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

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

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