Tsunoda slams stewards’ decision after massive red flag penalty

Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda has voiced his strong frustration with the Canadian Grand Prix stewards’ decision to impose a massive 10-place grid penalty for overtaking under red flag conditions during FP3.

The sanction, which followed an incident involving McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, has relegated Tsunoda to a back-of-the-grid start despite his P11 finish in Qualifying.

The incident occurred when Piastri, after hitting the Wall of Champions, limped back to the pits with a damaged right-rear tyre, leaving debris scattered across the track.

Tsunoda, encountering the slow-moving McLaren on the back straight, chose to pass Piastri to avoid potential hazards. The stewards, however, ruled that there was “no justifiable reason” for the overtake, matching the penalty given to Haas’ Ollie Bearman for a similar infraction in Monaco.

Tsunoda’s Outspoken Criticism

Speaking after qualifying, Tsunoda was at a loss to understand stewards’ ruling, stating.

“The 10-place grid penalty came out of nowhere to be honest, I didn’t even expect to be summoned for that,” the Japanese driver explained.

“I don’t know what they wanted me to do. Oscar had massive damage in the last corner, I saw him in the back straight driving 80kph, very slow. He was spraying debris everywhere and I saw even the tyre was going sideways so I thought if I keep driving behind, at one point the tyre is going to come off and hit me.

“You want to avoid that and it’s a very unnecessary situation.”

Tsunoda added that Piastri was doing his best to avoid causing further incidents, and he ensured the overtake was safe and cautious.

“In the end, he was driving on the far left to obviously avoid causing issues with other drivers which I think he did a very good job and that’s why I went far right, with a clear view.

“I obviously checked there was no car in front, car behind, and I overtook him 170kph which is like half the speed we normally drive to avoid an unnecessary situation.”

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But for the stewards, that was not enough to excuse the pass under red flag conditions.

“But apparently that’s not allowed, apparently they expect me to sit behind a car and wait to get hit. I don’t think I deserve this penalty because debris was all over the place, not just the last corner,” he said.

“I don’t know what they want me to do to be honest. It’s frustrating.”

A Tough Day Made Tougher

Tsunoda had shown solid pace throughout the weekend but fell just short of Q3. After the penalty, he’ll now line up at the very back – a bitter pill to swallow after already having lost valuable FP3 time due to the red flag itself.

“Obviously I’m not happy with P11. I think the balance was pretty good, the team did a fantastic job to support me in those areas but I just need time, especially having that issue in FP3 didn’t help much,” he said.

“I don’t have that confidence and trust yet, it will come but not yet.”

With overtaking possible in Montreal and the prospect of chaos never far away, Tsunoda may still find opportunities to climb through the field, but he'll be doing so carrying a clear sense of injustice.

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