After colliding with McLaren driver Oscar Piastri during the Mexican Grand Prix, Yuki Tsunoda ran into a room, shut the door, and cancelled everything to allow himself to work through the range of distressing emotions that he was going through, including guilt and anger.
Photo Credit: Red Bull Content Pool
With the help of DRS entering Turn 1, Tsunoda attempted to eventually pass the Australian rookie for seventh place on lap 49 of 71 after the pair had already touched in turn 2 on the previous lap.
However, when he went around the outside, his right rear wheel made contact with Piastri’s front left, causing a spin. After getting back on track, he regained some ground but crossed the line in a hugely disappointing P12.
Tsunoda now claims that his disappointment became so “hard to digest” that he immediately fled to his hotel room in Mexico City, after having defended his attempts to overtake Piastri. He was livid post-race, stating that the FIA favour top teams as no action was taken.
“I was really frustrated after the race because I lost the opportunity to score points for the team,” he commented to the media ahead of this weekend’s event at Interlagos.
“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.”
Tsunoda believes he could have finished as high as P5, suggesting he might have beaten Ricciardo and Russell if he had overtaken Piastri. The Japanese driver was ahead of Lando Norris at the time, too.
“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,” he added.
With the excessive speed he had with DRS at the final stretch of the main straight, Tsunoda said he, “tried to be patient as much as possible” while passing the rookie. He also said that it was “easy” to get alongside Piastri.
Since AlphaTauri is attempting to secure further money by overtaking Williams for seventh place in the constructors’ championship, he admitted that he should have shown more caution as it was a race for vital points. With three races to go + the sprint this weekend, they’re 12 adrift of Williams.
“I feel first of all guilty. 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,” the Japanese driver said.
“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.” he concluded.
In a media session ahead of the United States Grand Prix, Tsunoda mentioned hoping to get better emotional control through learning from teammate Daniel Ricciardo. We’ll see if he can do that.
