Daniel Ricciardo apologised to Carlos Sainz after Lap 1 tangle in F1 Emilia Romagna GP as they and Valtteri Bottas elaborate on the incident.

The slippery conditions at the start of F1 Emilia Romagna GP caught out McLaren’s Ricciardo in the opening lap and the opening few corners where he tangled with Ferrari’s Sainz. The collision also caught out Alfa Romeo’s Bottas in the process.

Ricciardo was on the inside in the left-hander where his front-right tangled with rear-left of Sainz. The Spaniard was spun around on the gravel which ended his race, whereas the Australian managed to get through it but it didn’t go well still.

Ricciardo apologised to Sainz after the race and accept his mistake. This tangle caught out Bottas as well who hit the back of the Australian in the corner, but he managed to continue on without much issue in the grand prix.

Ricciardo: “We have to see how much damage was and affected us. I think from Carlos, it was okay in terms of damage, but then it was secondary once I’d touched him and spun him around then I got a push from the back, so there’s a little bit at the back of the car I saw. At first, as soon as the safety car came out, all I remember is the push, so I originally thought I’d got hit into Carlos, but I think it was originally me getting into him and then I got a bit more help after. From memory, Turn 1 is going to bottle up, and I think I got onto the kerb, tried to give myself a little bit more space, but I remember as soon as I got on it I just started sliding right off it, and I was just sliding up and then at some point Carlos has to turn left to then make the right and we just came in and obviously I collected his rear.

“As soon as I hit him, I saw him spinning, and I was just like ah, yeah, it’s not fun. So obviously it ruined my race but also his. I obviously have to be accountable for that, I don’t think it was something where I was all locked up and ploughed into him, so obviously tricky conditions. I’ll watch the onboard and see if there’s something I could have done or if it was literally just that slippery that I don’t know, there was maybe not much more. In your head you say like I could have been more cautious, gone a bit slower, but as soon as you’re that person then someone else is going to be doing that to you or being on your inside. By being too conservative sometimes you can put yourself in more danger, by putting yourself in a sandwich or something, so it’s tough, but I’ll watch the onboard and go and see Carlos and apologise. An apology doesn’t change anything but at least for now that’s all I can do.”

Sainz: “I saw that I didn’t get the best of starts. To be fair with Charles, we need to analyse what happened there at the start, but you know, it’s a long race. So the start really in the wet, yes it’s preferred to have a good start, but we still managed to get clean into Turn 2, and for some reason Daniel went into the kerb, left him plenty of space, but I think he must have lost the front of the car and bumped into me with the unlucky situation that I got stuck yet again in the gravel. I think really I could have done differently there.

“It raises Daniel as an athlete and as a sportsman. Immediately after the race, you could see he’s had a tough one, but the first thing that he did, he was coming to the Ferrari box to apologise to me. There were the whole mechanics in here with me, and we all thanked him for the gesture. So that’s why there’s no hard feelings with Daniel, because what happened to him could happen to anyone out there today. Unfortunately, it had to happen to me, which I’m coming from the crash in Melbourne. It is how it is, the incident is no mystery, everybody saw the onboard and it is very clear to everyone.”

Bottas: “I had a bit of a scare at the beginning of the race, when I couldn’t avoid Ricciardo when he tangled with Sainz, but luckily we didn’t have any damage.”

Here’s how it happened with Carlos Sainz, Daniel Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.2022-emilia-romagna-grand-prix-sainz-runs-into-trouble-on-gravel-at-imola-start.1730998261561282111.html

Here’s how F1 Emilia Romagna GP panned out

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