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

Daniel Ricciardo comments on his 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 F1.

Daniel Ricciardo mentioned that he offered an apology to Nico Hulkenberg after the first-lap crash they had during the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix.

Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo found himself competing against Nico 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 he had enough room, but then he experienced an impact. This caused Hulkenberg's Haas to be pushed onto the dirt, allowing his teammate Kevin Magnussen to overtake him.

The Australian driver received a five-second penalty for the incident. However, he was later penalized with an additional 10-second penalty because one of his mechanics made contact with his car during the initial penalty at the pit stop.

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

"In the end, we didn't have enough speed today, even if we hadn't gotten the penalties," he stated.

"We gave it our best shot, and I was really having fun battling closely at the beginning, but unfortunately, I collided 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 allowed sufficient room. I apologized for that."

“It’s challenging because you give your all, but even the tiniest differences can impact the outcome.

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

"I personally feel much improved this weekend, and we nearly earned points."

Tsunoda 'Frustrated'

According to team member Laurent Mekies, the Italian Grand Prix for Red Bull was largely influenced by Nico Hulkenberg. A crash between 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, lost control, and ended up colliding with me."

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

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

"We're heading to Baku and Singapore next, and our car is expected to do well on those tracks, so we're optimistic about having successful weekends coming up."

Mekies' annoyance regarding the Tsunoda incident arises because he lost crucial track time with the upgraded RB vehicle that was brought to Monza.

"Regarding today's race, one might argue that Hulkenberg set the pace. Daniel received a five-second penalty for pushing him off the track, and later, Nico collided with Yuki, which resulted in us having to retire the car," he stated.

"The most disappointing part about Yuki’s retirement is that we missed out on 40 laps that could have helped us better understand the new updates we brought here."

"Daniel was given an additional 10-second penalty due to an error in implementing the initial one."

"We must reassess our protocols in this situation and gain insights from the error made today. While such incidents can occur, our pit crew's performance has typically been outstanding this season."

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