"I hated every moment of that excuse" - Daniel Ricciardo on apologizing to Carlos Sainz after the pair's 2022 F1 Imola GP incident

Daniel Ricciardo has jokingly claimed that he hates “every moment of his apology” to Carlos Sainz following the pair’s first lap incident at the 2022 Imola GP. When asked how he managed to remain so friendly in a completive sport like F1 on the Daily Show with Trevor Noah, the McLaren driver said:

“I hated every moment of that apology. Probably just with experience and being in it [F1] for so long, I have the maturity to know how much we all put into it and, as competitive as we are, we all have something strongly in common.”

Daniel Ricciardo tipped Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari into a spin at the start of the Imola GP when he briefly lost control of his McLaren at Turn 1 and understeered wide. Sainz’s spin left him beached in the gravel trap and forced him to retire for the second consecutive race.

Immediately after the race, Ricciardo personally apologized to Sainz for the incident by visiting the Ferrari garage, with the Spaniard welcoming the gesture. Explaining his reasoning behind the apology, despite the stewards classifying the incident as a “racing incident”, Ricciardo said:

“There’s only 20 of us in the world that do it, there’s only 20 F1 drivers. You respect everyone’s journey. The incident — if I hold myself accountable for something — then I feel like I want to apologise. It’s nothing personal.”

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Sainz apology allows for a clean slate: Daniel Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo says his apology to Carlos Sainz for the Imola GP incident allows them to have a clean slate for when they come alongside each other in the future. The Australian believes it helps them race against each other without baggage. Speaking on the Daily Show with Trevor Noah, he said:

“I don’t think everyone would do it but for me, I felt better by doing it so we (can have a) clean slate for the next one. I know when we come alongside each other on track next ... there’ll be intensity, but nothing heightened, I guess.”

The Imola incident also took away a potential top 6 finish for Ricciardo himself, given that he slipped from P6 at the start to dead last by the end of lap 1. Despite briefly being the fastest driver on track during the crossover point to dry tires, Ricciardo failed to recover from the incident and finished outside the points.