Yuki Tsunoda says he “canceled everything” and locked himself in his hotel room after last Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix out of frustration following his clash in the race with Oscar Piastri.
Despite starting his race on the penultimate row of the grid following an engine penalty, Tsunoda made good progress over the course of the 71-lap event.
He eventually managed to haul himself into the points just before the race was red flagged due to Kevin Magnussen’s heavy crash. And on the restart, he gained a couple more positions to begin a tussle with McLaren’s Piastri.
But as the fight intensified, the AlphaTauri driver attempted to overtake his rival on the outside of Turn 1, only to tag the McLaren as he turned in to the corner.
While Piastri was able to continue, Tsunoda spun into the run-off area which painfully dropped him down the order.
The Japanese driver was left to ponder what may have been as he vented his anger to his team over the radio, eventually concluding his afternoon a lowly P16.
"I was really frustrated after the race because I lost the opportunity to score points for the team,” he told the media in Brazil on Thursday.
"I was having a good race until then. So, I really had massive frustration and actually, it was hard to digest that frustration on that day.
"Normally, Mexico, you can enjoy. I actually cancelled everything and just stayed in the room. It was a big moment, and it was an opportunity… P5 was definitely possible."
In the heat of the moment, Tsunoda blamed Piastri for the costly run-in. But four days later, as he revisited the moment, he admitted that he should have been more cautious and relied on “situation management” given the points – and prize money for his AlphaTauri team – that were in play.
"I feel first of all guilty,” he acknowledged. "I don't know whether it's a conscious thing or whatever, but I just feel pretty bad if I play around and have a distraction after I have a bad race.
"Maybe it's good, but it will be just for me. It will be just temporary. I thought about everything - what I can improve in the future.
"It was obviously tough, but it gives me time to rethink. For me, it's the thing I normally do if I have a bad race. I only have a party if I have a good race."
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