Apologetic Tsunoda owns up to costly contact with Gasly

Yuki Tsunoda claimed responsibility for the ill-inspired move on AlphaTauri teammate Pierre Gasly that led to both drivers spinning off the track at Silverstone.

On lap 11, the Japanese charger - who was unluckily involved in the massive start-line crash that sent Zhou Guanyu's Alfa Romeo head over heels into the barriers - ran up the inside of Gasly at Village.

But the optimistic move led to a contact that sent both cars off the road. The collision proved costly for Gasly who was eventually forced to retire due to rear-wing damage.

However, the Frenchman wasn't the only driver to suffer from Tsunoda's mishap as Red Bull's Max Verstappen picked up a piece of debris from an AlphaTauri that damaged the underside of his Red Bull which severely impacted his performance.

Tsunoda wisely owned up to his blunder.

"I think I could have waited for another opportunity to pass him," he said.

"My speed was good going into the corner so I thought I could make it through.

"I also didn’t expect Pierre to close the door quite as much as he did, so this is a mistake from my side.

"Mainly, I just want to say sorry to the team. After that, I had damage to the car, it was very tricky to drive and that made the rest of the race very difficult for me."

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The 22-year-old later reiterated his apology on social media.

"About the collision with Pierre, huge apologies to my team, people in the factory, fans and especially Pierre Gasly," he wrote on Instagram.

"That was completely my mistake. I'll be back stronger in Austria."

After the race, Gasly was understandably frustrated by his teammate's over-optimistic move, suggesting that the less said, the better.

"With Yuki, yeah, I don’t want to speak about it now, but clearly something we need to speak internally [about] because we were both in the points," he said.

"It was clearly an unnecessary incident and I’m just disappointed about it."

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