Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has harsh words for the collision between Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson during the Italian Grand Prix. The two former teammates encountered each other at Monza, resulting in damage to the Japanese driver’s RB21. “That was incredibly stupid,” Marko commented.
After a top-ten finish at Zandvoort, Yuki Tsunoda failed to score World Championship points for his team Red Bull at Monza. The Japanese driver could do no better than thirteenth place, while teammate Max Verstappen claimed the 66th victory of his career. To add insult to injury for Tsunoda, he also had a run-in with Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson during the Italian race.
Midway through the Grand Prix, Tsunoda overtook Lawson on the way to the Roggia chicane, before the New Zealander fought back. The drivers then collided and both went off the track. Tsunoda sustained floor damage from the incident. According to advisor Helmut Marko, the incident between the two was ‘unnecessary’. “The collision with Lawson, from our own team, was incredibly stupid,” Marko did not mince his words, speaking to Sky Deutschland. “The car suffered significant damage as a result.”
Marko Defends Tsunoda
Laurent Mekies – the new team boss of Red Bull since the dismissal of Christian Horner after the British Grand Prix – was more lenient towards Tsunoda. “When I look at the qualifying, I still see it as a good weekend,” the Frenchman said. “He was only two-tenths behind Max in Q1. And Max was not exactly slow this weekend. The gap was larger in Q3, but he was the first on the track then. That didn’t help.”
