“I hated every second of the apology”- Daniel Ricciardo sheds light on the aftermath of his crash with Carlos Sainz in Imola

At the Emilia Romagna GP earlier this month, Daniel Ricciardo crashing into Carlos Sainz led to the latter’s race ending on lap one.

Sainz’s last few weeks have been tough on track. His race in Australia ended on lap one, and the stage was set in Imola for him to succeed in front of the home Ferrari fans.

However, his race ended on the very first lap once again. This time, Ricciardo’s mistake led to the Aussie crashing into the back of the Ferrari driver’s car. This resulted in him spinning out, bringing his outing to a premature end.

Ricciardo owned up to his mistake after the race. The 32-year old admitted that he lost control of his car and had nowhere to go. Videos emerged of him going into the Ferrari motorhome to apologize to Sainz after the race.

The Perth born driver has always been popular in the paddock for his friendliness. At the The Daily Show with Trevor Noah earlier this week, Ricciardo spoke about what makes him want to stay on good terms with every other driver.

Also read: “He is not an unfair driver” – Carlos Sainz does not blame Daniel Ricciardo for ruining his race in Imola

“There’s only 20 of us in the world who do what we do”, says Daniel Ricciardo

Ricciardo went on to say that with experience, drivers develop a sense of mutual respect for another. The fact that it’s such an exclusive sport, adds to the factor. Now 32-years old, Ricciardo believes he has the maturity to work on and own up to any mistake he makes on track.

When Noah asked him about what went through his mind while apologizing to Sainz, the McLaren driver replied with, “I hated every second of that apology.”

It was followed by laughter from both Ricciardo and Noah, so it’s probable that the Aussie said it as a joke. He then went on to explain why he wants to get along well with the other drivers in F1.

“I think probably with experience and being in F1 for so long, I guess I have the maturity now to know how much we all put into it,” he said. “As competitive we are, we all have something strongly in common. There’s only 20 of us in the world who do this.”

“You kind of just respect everyone’s journey. So the incident, if I hold myself accountable for something, I feel like I want to apologize and it’s nothing personal.”

Also read: “The taste of victory and agony of da feet!”- Watch Daniel Ricciardo do a shoey at The Daily Show with Trevor Noah