Daniel Ricciardo has apologised to McLaren following a tough day for the team at the Brazilian Grand Prix. In his penultimate race with the Woking-based squad, Ricciardo tagged the inside of Kevin Magnussen's Haas during the opening lap. The Dane's car spun around and, as Ricciardo attempted to drive around it, the pair collided. This put both drivers immediately out of the Grand Prix, as well as leading to a Safety Car period. Ricciardo was deemed to be at fault for the incident by the stewards and will take a three-place grid drop at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as a result. He also received two points on his superlicence, bringing his 12-month total up to eight out of a maximum of 12.
Ricciardo: Small touch had massive consequences
Ricciardo spoke of his disappointment after the race at having to retire so early on in the proceedings. "Firstly, I'm disappointed as it's always difficult when your race is over so quickly," the Australian explained. "I touched the back of Kevin and it's a shame. I think the biggest disappointment is that it was such a small touch, but it had massive consequences. "I didn't expect him to spin, I guess that was just the angle that we touched and it just unloaded his rear. I feel most times, a small touch like that, you can get away with it. "So it was pretty unfortunate for both of us."
Ricciardo apologises to McLaren
With his final race at McLaren approaching, Ricciardo hopes to bounce back in Abu Dhabi. "It was an eventful race, so, it's a shame not to have been out there," the 33-year-old said. "Apologies to the team here and back at home but we will reset and go one more time in Abu Dhabi." The race at Interlagos proved to be a difficult one for McLaren; the team recorded their first double DNF since 2017 when Lando Norris pulled off the track due to a mechanical issue. Consequently, the outfit have lost ground to Alpine in their Constructors' Championship battle for P4, with their rivals now ahead by 19 points.
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