Ricciardo Apologizes After Hulkenberg Clash at Italian GP: ‘I Thought We Had Space

Daniel Ricciardo on Conflict with Nico Hulkenberg: "I Believed There Was Room; I Said Sorry"

Daniel Ricciardo Responds to Collision with Haas at the F1 Italian Grand Prix

Daniel Ricciardo mentioned that he offered an apology to Nico Hulkenberg after the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix due to a collision that took place between them on the first lap.

Red Bull driver Ricciardo and Hulkenberg were contending for positions 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 he experienced a collision. This incident pushed Hulkenberg's Haas onto the dirt, causing him to lose a position to his teammate, Kevin Magnussen.

The Australian driver received a five-second time penalty for the incident. However, he later had to serve a 10-second penalty because one of his mechanics touched the car while he was serving the initial penalty during his pit stop.

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

"In the end, we just didn't have the speed today, even if you don't count the penalties," he stated.

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

"After the race, I talked to him and explained that I believed there was enough space, but I felt the collision, so I realized I hadn't given him sufficient room. I apologized for that."

"It's challenging because you push yourself to the limit, but even the tiniest differences can have a big impact."

"The vehicle performed adequately afterward, and we gave it our all with the resources available. From Friday afternoon onwards, I aimed to extract the utmost performance from the car."

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

Tsunoda felt 'frustrated'

The outcome of the Italian Grand Prix was influenced by Hulkenberg, said team member Laurent Mekies, after a crash involving the Haas driver and Yuki Tsunoda led to the Japanese driver's race ending prematurely.

Yuki Tsunoda expressed his frustration, saying it was unfortunate that his race effectively ended just a few laps in because of a collision with Nico.

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

“Regrettably, we were forced to pull the car out of 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."

"With Baku and Singapore coming up, our vehicle is expected to perform strongly at these locations, so we are optimistic about having successful weekends."

Mekies is frustrated with the Tsunoda incident because it caused him to lose crucial time on the track with the newly updated RB car at Monza.

"Regarding today's race, you might say Hulkenberg set the pace. Daniel received a five-second penalty for pushing him off the track. Afterward, Nico collided with Yuki, which caused us 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 knowledge of the new updates we implemented here."

“Daniel was given an additional 10-second penalty because the initial penalty wasn’t applied properly.

"We must examine our processes in this situation and take lessons from today's error. Although incidents like this occur, our pit crew has largely performed outstandingly this season."

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