The McLaren driver had the inside line into the first corner, but as the Ferrari pulled away, Ricciardo slid across the track on the greasy, wet kerb.
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McLaren’s spirits were high heading into Imola after a breakthrough performance in Australia, and they were boosted even more when both of their drivers were given third row starting positions for the Grand Prix. Lando Norris, on the other hand, used it to propel himself forward and earn the team’s first podium of the season, while Daniel Ricciardo’s day was marred by a costly first-lap incident. The Australian got off to a great start from the less grippy side of the grid, battling Carlos Sainz for fifth place. The McLaren driver had the inside line into the first corner, but as the Ferrari pulled away, Ricciardo slid across the track on the greasy, wet kerb. He sent the Ferrari into a spin, causing Sainz’s car to crash.
“I think I got onto the kerb just to try and buy myself a bit more space, because I know at some point it’s going to bottle up,” said Ricciardo. “But I think once I got on the kerb, 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. Obviously not the way I wanted Sunday to go. A painful one and obviously not the way I want to affect someone else’s race,” the Mclaren driver added.
Both the initial contact and a subsequent collision between the two as they slid off into the gravel left Ricciardo with damage. The Australian had enough speed to get away and return to the track, but sustaining damage and starting last made for a difficult afternoon, with Ricciardo finishing P18 and last.
“Lap 1 incidents are the worst, especially when you keep going,” he said. “Sometimes in a way it’s easier when [the race is] just done. I know that sounds really negative but we were at the back and just slow. Obviously, we try and gather some data but we’ll see what the damage was and how much it hurt us,” Ricciardo said.
As Ferrari failed to deliver on home soil, Max Verstappen won a dramatic wet-dry Emilia Romagna Grand Prix over Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, with Charles Leclerc spinning late on to finish sixth after Carlos Sainz retired. The Dutchman won the Sprint on Saturday and led off the line on Sunday, with teammate Perez joining him at the front – while Leclerc dropped to fourth for a brief moment. On the first lap, the Safety Car was deployed after Daniel Ricciardo tipped Carlos Sainz into the gravel and forced him out of the race for the second consecutive Grand Prix.
