Ricciardo Apologizes After Hulkenberg Clash at Italian GP: Penalties and Frustrations for RB Team

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

Daniel Ricciardo addresses the situation with Haas during the Italian Grand Prix in Formula 1

Daniel Ricciardo mentioned that he apologized to Nico Hulkenberg after the first-lap collision between them at the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix.

Red Bull's Ricciardo found himself tussling with Hulkenberg in the middle of the pack during the first lap of Sunday's race at Monza when the two collided at Turn 8.

Ricciardo mentioned that he believed there was enough room, but then he experienced a collision. This incident pushed Hulkenberg's Haas off the track, allowing his teammate Kevin Magnussen to pass.

The Australian driver received a five-second penalty for the incident, but ended up with a 10-second penalty because one of his mechanics touched his car during the initial pitstop punishment.

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

"In the end, we just weren't fast enough today, even if you don't consider the penalties," he stated.

"We gave it our best shot, and I was really having fun with the close racing at the beginning, but then I collided with Nico at Turn 8.

"After the race, I talked to him and explained that I believed we had enough space. However, I felt the impact, indicating I hadn't left sufficient room, so I offered my apologies."

"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 exerted maximum effort with the resources available. From Friday afternoon until today, I aimed to extract the best possible performance from the car."

"In my opinion, I'm feeling much improved this weekend, and we were on the verge of earning some points."

Tsunoda Feels 'Frustrated'

RB's Italian Grand Prix was significantly influenced by Hulkenberg, as stated by team member Laurent Mekies. A crash involving Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg and Yuki Tsunoda led to the Japanese driver's race coming to an early end.

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

"I attempted to give him plenty of room, but it looked like he froze up, which led to him losing control and colliding with me."

"Regrettably, we had to withdraw the car due to some damage sustained to the flooring."

"I immediately noticed the issue and attempted to keep going, but the car was slipping, making it impossible for me to control."

"We're heading to Baku and Singapore next, and our car is expected to do well at those tracks. We're hopeful for successful weekends ahead."

Mekies is upset about the Tsunoda incident because it caused him to miss important track time with the new RB car that was introduced at Monza.

"Regarding today's race, it could 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 ultimately resulted in us having to retire the car," he stated.

"The most disappointing part of Yuki's retirement is that we missed 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 one was not carried out properly."

"We must evaluate our procedures in this situation and take lessons from today's error. While incidents like this are inevitable, our pit crew has overall performed outstandingly this season."

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