Gasly and Tsunoda blame each other for Monaco GP collision

Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda are at odds after their collision during the Monaco Grand Prix, with the two drivers blaming each other for the crash early in the race.

Both drivers endured a difficult qualifying session on Saturday, with Tsunoda and Gasly lining up in 12th and 17th on the starting grid respectively.

The streets of Monaco are notoriously difficult to overtake on, and therefore both racers would be required to make bold manoeuvres to make their way further up the running order and into the top ten.

Unfortunately, Gasly's race came to a premature end when he hit the back of Tsunoda's Red Bull RB21 in the braking zone of the chicane on lap eight of the Grand Prix, destroying his front suspension and retiring in the pitlane.

"He moved back onto the racing line"

Speaking to media in the Principality of Monaco, Gasly explained his view on the incident, blaming Tsunoda entirely for the unfortunate coming-together.

He said: "Yuki made a mistake before the tunnel, so I got very close to him, and every lap he was braking on the racing line on the right. This lap, I was very close, so I decided to stay on the left.

"He started braking on the left, I committed to the right, and then he moved back onto the racing line, but I was already committing and braking later than him, so I just couldn’t go anywhere."

The Frenchman continued in anger, saying that he will talk to Tsunoda about the incident when he has a chance.

He added: "I don’t really understand; on a braking zone, on a normal track, you don’t move, so once you hit the brake, you stick to where you are.

"He clearly jumped on the brake on the left side of the line and then went over the white line. I’m sure we’ll chat about it, but I don’t think it was his finest move," concluded Gasly.

"I will do the same if I have one more time"

Tsunoda, despite being hit in the rear by Gasly's Alpine, suffered no significant damage and was able to continue in the race. However, he was unable to make inroads on the points-paying positions and ultimately saw the chequered flag in P17.

The Red Bull driver was dumbfounded by his former teammate's accusations, claiming that he didn't move under braking.

The Japanese driver explained: "It’s a big mystery; I didn’t do anything silly, moving under the braking or whatever.

"I don’t know what happened to be honest – I just remember, retrospectively, [Gasly] crashing into me."

Tsunoda doubled down by stating that he wouldn't do anything differently given a second chance, thereby shifting the blame on Gasly for the crash.

• Read Also: Monaco GP: Flawless Norris wins tactical street race - Leclerc second

He continued: "I mean, I don’t think I did anything wrong, to be honest. I will do the same if I have one more time.

"Because I was hugging the wall the whole time. I knew which way I would take and I didn’t want to move under the braking," said Tsunoda.

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via X and Facebook