Ricciardo Apologizes for Hulkenberg Collision Amid Penalty-Plagued Italian GP; Tsunoda’s Race Cut Short by Haas Incident

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

Daniel Ricciardo addresses the incident involving Haas during the F1 Italian Grand Prix

Daniel Ricciardo mentioned that he apologized to Nico Hulkenberg after they collided on the first lap of the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix.

Red Bull driver Ricciardo found himself competing against Hulkenberg among the middle group of cars during the first lap of Sunday’s race at Monza. The two drivers collided at Turn 8.

Ricciardo mentioned that he believed he had enough room, but then experienced a collision – which caused Hulkenberg's Haas to be pushed onto the dirt, allowing Kevin Magnussen, his teammate, to overtake him.

The Australian driver received a five-second penalty for the incident. However, a mechanic touched his car during the pit stop while he was serving this penalty, which resulted in an additional 10-second penalty.

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

"At the end of the day, we just weren't fast enough, penalties or not," he commented.

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

"After the race, I had a conversation with him. I initially believed we had sufficient space, but I realized we made contact, indicating I hadn't given him enough room. I apologized for that."

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

"The car performed well afterward, and we did our best with the resources available. Since Friday afternoon, I’ve been striving to extract the utmost potential from the vehicle."

"In my opinion, I am feeling significantly improved this weekend, and we came very near to earning points."

Tsunoda 'Disappointed'

The Italian Grand Prix for RB was heavily influenced by Hulkenberg's actions, stated team member Laurent Mekies, after an incident involving the Haas driver and Yuki Tsunoda resulted in the Japanese driver's race coming to an early end.

"I'm quite upset; it's disappointing 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 appeared he froze, lost control, and collided with me."

"Regrettably, we had to withdraw the car from 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."

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

Mekies is frustrated about the Tsunoda incident because it cost him significant track time with the upgraded RB car that was introduced at Monza.

"In today's race, it could be argued that Hulkenberg set the pace. Daniel received a five-second penalty for pushing him off the track. Following that, 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, which would have helped us better evaluate the new updates we implemented."

"Daniel was subsequently given an additional 10-second penalty due to improper execution of the initial penalty."

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

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