Ricciardo Reflects on Hulkenberg Clash at Italian GP: ‘I Thought We Had Space; I Apologised

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

Daniel Ricciardo addresses the incident involving Haas at the Formula 1 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.

Red Bull driver Ricciardo was contending with Hulkenberg in the middle of the field during the first lap of Sunday’s race at Monza when the two collided at Turn 8.

Ricciardo mentioned that he believed he had enough room, but then experienced an impact. This caused Hulkenberg's Haas to veer onto the dirt, allowing his teammate Kevin Magnussen to overtake.

The Australian driver received a five-second penalty for the incident. However, he was subsequently handed a 10-second penalty because one of his mechanics made contact with his car while he was serving the initial penalty during his pitstop.

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

"We just weren't fast enough today, even if you don't count the penalties," he commented.

"We gave it a shot, and I was having fun with the close racing initially, but I ended up colliding with Nico at Turn 8."

"After the race, I had a conversation with him. I believed there was enough space, but I felt the collision, so I didn't leave sufficient room and I said sorry."

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

"The vehicle performed adequately afterward, and we exerted every effort with the resources available. I aimed to extract peak performance from the car starting Friday afternoon until today."

"I personally feel much better this weekend, and we came close to earning points."

Tsunoda 'Frustrated' After Italian GP

Red Bull's performance at the Italian Grand Prix was heavily influenced by Nico Hulkenberg, reports team official Laurent Mekies. A crash between Haas driver Hulkenberg and Yuki Tsunoda led to Tsunoda's race coming to an early end.

Yuki Tsunoda expressed his frustration, stating that it was unfortunate his race effectively ended just a few laps in because of a collision with Nico.

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

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

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

"With Baku and Singapore up next, we expect our car to do well on those tracks, so we're optimistic about having successful weekends coming up."

Mekies was upset about the Tsunoda incident because it caused him to miss important time on the track with the upgraded RB car that was brought to Monza.

"Today’s race seemed to be controlled by Hulkenberg. Daniel received a five-second penalty for pushing him off the track. Later, Nico collided with Yuki, which resulted in us having to retire the car," he explained.

"The most exasperating part about Yuki's retirement is that it cost us 40 laps, which would have enhanced our knowledge of the new updates we implemented here.”

"Daniel was given an additional 10-second penalty because we mishandled the application of the initial penalty."

“We must reassess our protocols in this situation and take lessons from the error made today. While such incidents occur, our pit crew's performance has typically been outstanding this season.”

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