The Italian Grand Prix proved to be another challenging race for Yuki Tsunoda. Although the Japanese driver finally managed to qualify among the top ten on Saturday, he fell back to thirteenth place during the race. While Max Verstappen celebrated victory, his teammate was left without points. Afterwards, a frustrated Tsunoda pointed to an ‘unnecessary’ collision with Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson.
Tsunoda started from the tenth position on Sunday, but the points slipped through his fingers when he showed a lack of pace in the opening stages. Moreover, the floor of his RB21 suffered significant damage after a collision with Lawson. The New Zealander had started from the back of the grid, but was able to join the fight for the top ten due to an early switch to hard tyres. In the second chicane, he tried to overtake Tsunoda, but ended up hitting his former teammate. Both made a brief detour off the track.
Afterwards, Tsunoda judged that the incident with Lawson was unnecessary – the Racing Bulls driver would have defended his position needlessly. “It was quite a heavy collision,” he responded to the press in Monza. “The damage was such that I was significantly slowed down. Of course, that’s incredibly frustrating and, in my opinion, totally unnecessary. I haven’t heard the details yet, but it really cost me a lot of speed.”
‘I was fighting for points, he wasn’t’
“He started last and wasn’t even fighting for points,” Tsunoda continued angrily. “On the other hand, I was gaining more than a second per lap. I just don’t understand it. If you’re fighting for points, there’s room to race, even with your sister team. Then you’re rivals, especially now that I’m in such a competitive team. But there are also limits. What was the point? I was fighting for points and he wasn’t. I can’t say more than that.””Lawson was, of course, also asked about the collision with Yuki Tsunoda. He dismissed the incident as insignificant. “It was a frustrating race,” he admitted. “We started on soft tires to take a gamble later, but unfortunately, that didn’t work out as hoped. Sometimes that’s the way it is. The car was very fast this weekend, so it’s a shame to finish without points. At the same time, it’s positive that we have a strong car for the upcoming races.” And the collision with Tsunoda? “That was actually nothing. He overtook me in the first corner and I tried to take him back in turn four. Unfortunately, we touched and went straight on at the chicane. But after that, I gave back that position.”
The collision between Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda during the GP of Italy (Getty Images)”
