Carlos Sainz Comments on Daniel Ricciardo’s Apology After First Lap Wreck at Imola

The McLaren driver slid into the Ferrari star in the opening lap, who ended up beached on the gravel.

IMAGO / Marco Canoniero

All it takes is one hit to end your day while competing in motor sports, and for Carlos Sainz, that moment came incredibly early at Imola on Sunday. 

Just a few corners into the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo collided with the Spaniard, sending the Ferrari driver into the gravel. It was Sainz’s second consecutive DNF, but Ricciardo was able to continue to race as he prevented his car from becoming beached. 

“I think I got onto the curb just to try and buy myself a bit more space because I know at some point it’s going to bottle up,” Ricciardo said, per Formula1.com. “But I think once I got on the curb, I just slid off it and then started to slide up into him.

“Obviously intentions were, in a way, good to try and, let’s say, leave some room. But in those conditions, obviously I didn’t have the grip I was hopeful for, slid up into him and ruined his race as well.”

Sainz told reporters that, “It says much about Daniel as an athlete and as a sportsman that immediately after a race, where you could see he’s had a tough one, the first thing that he did was come in to the Ferrari box and apologize to me.” Mechanics were also present when Ricciardo apologized, all thanking the Australian for his gesture, Sainz continued. 

“So that's why there's no hard feelings with Daniel because of what happened,” Sainz said. “It could happen to anyone out there today. But unfortunately, it had to happen to me, when I'm coming from the crash in Melbourne. So yeah, it's how it is. The incident has really no mystery to it. I think if you see the onboard and what happened, it is very clear to everyone.”

One of the concerns for Sainz is how he is losing track time in the F1-75, which could be costly in the long run. Comparatively, his teammate, Charles Leclerc, appears to have a better handle on the vehicle, finishing first in Bahrain, second in Saudi Arabia, first in Australia and sixth in Imola. For the first two races, Sainz was right behind the Monegasque, ending second in Bahrain and third in Saudi Arabia.