Ricciardo Reflects and Apologizes After Hulkenberg Clash at Italian GP: ‘I Thought We Had Space

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

Daniel Ricciardo responds to collision with Haas during the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix

Daniel Ricciardo mentioned that he offered an apology to Nico Hulkenberg after the first-lap incident involving both drivers at the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix.

On the first lap of Sunday's race at Monza, Red Bull driver Ricciardo and Hulkenberg clashed at Turn 8 while competing in the middle of the pack.

Ricciardo mentioned that he believed he had enough room, but then experienced a collision – which resulted in Hulkenberg’s Haas getting pushed onto the dirt and losing a position to his teammate Kevin Magnussen.

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

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

“In the end, we lacked speed today, even without considering the penalties,” he stated.

"We gave it our all, and I was having fun with the close racing at the beginning, but I collided with Nico at Turn 8."

"After the race, I talked to him and explained that I believed there was enough space, but I felt the collision and realized I hadn't given him sufficient room. I apologized for that."

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

"The car was performing reasonably well 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."

"I’m feeling much improved this weekend, and we nearly managed to earn some points."

Tsunoda 'Annoyed' After Incident

The Italian Grand Prix for Red Bull was heavily influenced by Nico Hulkenberg, stated team member Laurent Mekies. A clash between Haas driver Hulkenberg and Yuki Tsunoda resulted in the premature end of the Japanese driver's race.

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

"I attempted to give plenty of room, but it appeared he panicked, lost control, and collided with me."

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

"I noticed it immediately and attempted to keep going, but the vehicle was skidding and I just couldn't control it."

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

Mekies is frustrated about the Tsunoda incident because it cost him 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 led to us having to retire the car," he stated.

"The most disappointing part of Yuki's retirement is missing out on 40 laps that would have helped us learn more about the new updates we implemented."

"Daniel was given an additional 10-second penalty because the initial one wasn't carried out properly."

"We must reassess our protocols in this situation and take lessons from today's error. Although such issues arise, our pit crew's performance has mostly been outstanding this season."

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