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Daniel Ricciardo has apologized to Nico Hulkenberg after he pushed the German off the track on the first lap of the 2024 F1 Italian GP. The Australian didn't have the best of races in Monza, and it was primarily marred by the first-lap incident involving Hulkenberg.
Heading towards Ascari, Nico Hulkenberg got a run on Daniel Ricciardo and was trying to line him up for a move around the outside. In what was seemingly a case of a momentary lapse in judgment, Daniel ended up pushing Nico off the track at the braking zone.
The move led to the Haas driver suffering damage and losing multiple positions. Daniel Ricciardo was given a 5-second time penalty for the move during the race, while Nico Hulkenberg's race was more or less over at that point. Looking back at the race, Ricciardo felt sorry for what happened with Nico. Talking about the incident to F1.com, he said,
“Obviously I’m aware I’m fighting and there’s a car alongside me, but you don’t really know. Like I thought we were good and then I felt the contact, so I obviously immediately assumed I didn’t give him enough room," Ricciardo said.
“So, I just wanted to know how bad it was, like was he half a car in the dirt or did he just grab a tyre. Yeah, it’s tough, you race hard but little things can make a difference so sorry for him,” he added.
Daniel Ricciardo didn't think RB had the pace to fight for points
Daniel Ricciardo felt that there was not enough pace to fight for points. The driver talked about Kevin Magnussen being able to breeze past him in the race and, despite a 10-second time penalty, still finish in points. This was an indication that the car just didn't have the performance to get a better result.
Looking back at the race where the Australian was unable to make much of an impact, Ricciardo said,
“I think ultimately, we weren’t quick enough, like even without the penalties. For sure we tried, but I don’t think we were quick enough – Kevin [Magnussen] passed me on the medium and then drove away on the hards, and I think he had a penalty as well from what I heard at the end. Yeah, we weren’t quite fast enough," he said.
Daniel Ricciardo's future in Formula 1 still hangs in the balance at the moment, with the 35-year-old unsure of what's next for him. At the same time, with no clarity over who is going to occupy the seat at RB or Red Bull in 2025, an opportunity might present itself to the Australian, who will be hoping to find himself in a better position for next year.
