Ricciardo Apologizes to Hulkenberg After Italian GP Clash: A Mid-Pack Battle’s Ripple Effect on RB’s Race

Daniel Ricciardo comments on 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 expressed his apologies to Nico Hulkenberg after they collided on the first lap of the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix.

Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg were competing in the midfield during the first lap of the Monza race on Sunday when they collided at Turn 8.

Ricciardo mentioned that he believed he had enough room, but then experienced a collision. This resulted in Hulkenberg's Haas being pushed onto the dirt, allowing Kevin Magnussen, his teammate, to overtake him.

The Australian driver received a five-second penalty for the incident, but later had to serve a 10-second penalty because one of his mechanics touched his car during the initial pitstop penalty.

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

“Overall, our speed wasn’t sufficient today, even if we disregard the penalties,” he commented.

"We gave it our best shot, and I had fun competing closely right from the beginning, but I ended up colliding with Nico at Turn 8."

"After the race, I talked to him and explained that I believed there was enough space. However, I did feel the collision, indicating I hadn't allowed sufficient room, so I offered my apology."

"It's challenging because you push yourself, but even the tiniest differences can have a big impact.

"The car performed adequately afterward, and we gave it our all with the resources available. From Friday afternoon until today, I was striving to extract the best performance from the vehicle."

"From my perspective, I'm feeling much improved this weekend, and we nearly managed to earn some points."

Tsunoda felt 'frustrated'

RB's performance at the Italian GP was "influenced by Hulkenberg," according to team member Laurent Mekies, as an incident involving the Haas driver and Yuki Tsunoda led to the Japanese driver's race coming to an early end.

"I'm quite upset; it's unfortunate that my race ended just a few laps in after colliding with Nico," Tsunoda remarked.

"I attempted to give him plenty of room, but it appeared that 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 immediately noticed the issue 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. We're optimistic about having successful weekends coming up."

Mekies is upset about the Tsunoda incident because it cost him important track time with the upgraded RB vehicle that was introduced at Monza.

"Regarding today's race, it could be said that Hulkenberg set the pace. Daniel received a five-second penalty after 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 of Yuki retiring is missing out on 40 laps that could have boosted our knowledge of the new updates we brought in."

“Daniel was subsequently given an additional 10-second penalty due to an error in the implementation of the initial one.”

"We need to reassess our processes in this situation and take lessons from the error made today. Although such incidents occur, our pit crew has mostly performed outstandingly this season."

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