Ricciardo Apologizes for Hulkenberg Collision as Penalties Mar Italian GP for RB Team

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

Daniel Ricciardo responds to the incident involving Haas during the F1 Italian Grand Prix

Daniel Ricciardo mentioned that he offered an apology to Nico Hulkenberg after the two drivers collided on the first lap of the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix.

During the first lap of Sunday's race at Monza, Red Bull driver Ricciardo and Hulkenberg were jostling for position in the middle of the pack when they collided at Turn 8.

Ricciardo mentioned that he believed he had enough room, but then experienced a collision. This incident 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, but eventually had to endure a 10-second penalty because one of his mechanics touched the car during the initial penalty at his pit stop.

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

"In the end, we just weren't fast enough today, even without considering the penalties," he remarked.

"We put in our best effort, and I was really having fun battling closely with the other drivers at the beginning, but then I collided with Nico at Turn 8."

"After the race, I talked to him and initially believed we had enough space. However, I realized we made contact, meaning I hadn't given him sufficient room, so I apologized."

"It's challenging because you put in a lot of effort, but even the tiniest differences can impact the outcome."

"The car’s performance was satisfactory, and we gave it our all with the resources available. From Friday afternoon until today, I was focused on extracting the best possible performance from the vehicle."

"In my opinion, I felt much improved this weekend, and we nearly managed to earn some points."

Tsunoda 'frustrated' after Italian GP

Team Laurent Mekies stated that RB's Italian Grand Prix was heavily influenced by Hulkenberg. A clash between Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg and Yuki Tsunoda led to the Japanese driver's race coming to an early end.

"I am quite disappointed; it is unfortunate that my race ended just a few laps in because of a collision with Nico," Tsunoda expressed.

"I attempted to maintain as much distance as I could, but it appeared that he froze up, leading to a loss of control and a collision with me."

“Regrettably, we had to pull the car out of service 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.

"We have upcoming races in Baku and Singapore, where our car is expected to perform strongly. We are optimistic about having successful weekends at these events."

Mekies is irritated about the Tsunoda incident because it caused him to lose important track time with the upgraded RB car that was brought to 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. Subsequently, Nico collided with Yuki, which resulted in us having to retire the car," he commented.

The most exasperating part about Yuki retiring is that we missed out on 40 laps that could have enhanced our comprehension of the new updates we implemented here.

“Daniel was given an additional 10-second penalty because we mishandled the initial one.”

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

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