Ricciardo Apologizes for Hulkenberg Collision Amid Penalty-Laden Italian GP

Daniel Ricciardo comments on incident with Nico Hulkenberg: "I assumed there was enough room; I said sorry."

Daniel Ricciardo responds to clash with Haas at the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix.

Daniel Ricciardo expressed that he offered an apology to Nico Hulkenberg after they collided during the first lap of the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix.

Red Bull driver Ricciardo clashed with Hulkenberg in the middle of the pack during the first lap of Sunday's race at Monza, specifically at Turn 8.

Ricciardo mentioned that he believed there was enough room, but he experienced a collision – resulting in Hulkenberg's Haas being pushed onto the dirt and allowing Kevin Magnussen, his teammate, to overtake him.

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

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

“In the end, we just didn’t have the speed today, even if you don’t consider the penalties,” he stated.

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

"After the race, I talked to him and thought we had enough space, but I felt the contact and realized I didn't give him sufficient room, so I apologized."

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

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

"I personally feel much better this weekend, and we nearly managed to earn some points."

Tsunoda Expresses Frustration

Laurent Mekies from Red Bull stated that the Italian Grand Prix was heavily influenced by Nico Hulkenberg, as a crash involving the Haas driver and Yuki Tsunoda led to the Japanese driver's race coming to an early end.

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

“I attempted to maintain a significant distance, but it appeared that he froze up, leading him to lose control and collide with me.

"Regrettably, we had to withdraw the car from the race due to sustaining damage to its floor."

"I noticed it immediately and attempted to keep going, but the vehicle was slipping all over the place, making it impossible for me to drive."

"Upcoming races in Baku and Singapore should suit our car, so we’re optimistic about having successful weekends."

Mekies is upset about the Tsunoda incident because it caused him to lose important track time with the newly updated RB car that was brought to Monza.

"Regarding today's race, it can be said that Hulkenberg was in control. Daniel received a five-second penalty for pushing him off the track. Subsequently, Nico collided with Yuki, which resulted in us having to withdraw the car," he stated.

"The most aggravating part of Yuki's retirement is that we missed out on 40 laps, which would have helped us better comprehend the new updates we implemented at this event."

"Daniel was given an additional 10-second penalty after we failed to properly implement the initial one."

"We must reassess our protocols for this situation and take lessons from the error made today. Although incidents like this occur, our pit crew's performance has been outstanding overall this season."

Explore Further

Breaking News

Breaking News

Site Directory

Crash.Net

©1999-2024 Crash Media Group

It is prohibited to reproduce any part or the entirety of text, photos, or illustrations in any manner.