"I can't say it's 100 per cent my fault" - Daniel Ricciardo on his collision with Yuki Tsunoda at Mexican GP

Daniel Ricciardo declined to take complete blame for his collision with Yuki Tsunoda at the Mexican GP on Sunday.

The Australian, on soft tyres, was much quicker than the cars around him. So, he was able to make his way through the field and finish in P7. However, while trying to pull off a move on the inside of Yuki Tsunoda, he collided with the AlphaTauri.

The Japanese driver suffered significant damage and had to retire, while Ricciardo was given a ten-second penalty. That penalty did not amount to anything, as he finished the race in P7, more than ten seconds ahead of Esteban Ocon in P8.

Talking about his performance, Ricciardo was ecstatic but refused to take complete blame for Tsunoda's crash. He said:

"I'm very happy; it still wasn't straightforward. Obviously, I still got a 10-second penalty so. I'm a little mixed about it. Of course, you never want contact to the point where the other guy goes off, but I just saw a replay, and I don't feel as bad as about it now. I still wish it didn't happen."

DRIVER OF THE DAY! 🤩

What a drive by the Honey Badger.
P11 ~ P7️⃣, despite the 10-sec penalty! 🤯

#F1 #MexicoGP #DanielRicciardo https://t.co/jnd11Kln1Z

The McLaren driver added:

"I didn't miss the apex. I didn't lock and go into him. I'll take responsibility, but I was just trying to stay there to keep him a little wide to get the exit. I'll take a bit more responsibility, but I can't say it's 100 per cent my fault. That was the little bit of the difficult moment in the race, but after Tom told me I had 10 seconds, I didn't respond, and then I felt like I had really good pace and somehow made it work."

Ricciardo (35) is 12th in the driver standings with two races to go.

I'm happy for Daniel Ricciardo - Esteban Ocon

Esteban Ocon of Alpine was disappointed with his race, as he only finished P7, but he was happy for Ricciardo, who has not had the best of seasons. Ocon said:

"I am happy for him (Ricciardo) with the season that he has had, but on the other side, not happy at all because we scored less then them this weekend. We were on for double points; we had good starts, good strategies and good overtakes but facing a lot of cooling issues."

P8 in Mexico after a tough race. We were on for a strong double-points finish before Fernando’s unfortunate retirement and the cooling issues on my side. But we’ll be back and we’ll keep fighting until the end. 😤 Two to go… @AlpineF1Team

¡Gracias México! 🙏🏼🇲🇽 https://t.co/yRE5ylSqa4

Ricciardo was named the driver of the day for his superlative drive through the field.