Yuki Tsunoda reflected on the race-ending collision between himself and Pierre Gasly on the first lap of the F1 Saudi Arabian GP.
After starting P8 and P9, the former AlphaTauri teammates came together at Turn 4, as Gasly attempted to pass. Tsunoda clipped the left-rear tyre of the Alpine, sending both cars spinning into the wall. The A525 sustained terminal damage, triggering an early safety car. Tsunoda managed to limp back to the pits, but his hopes of continuing were quickly dashed, as his RB20 was also retired from the race.
The stewards investigated the collision but opted not to take further action, classifying it as a racing incident.
Tsunoda shares his thoughts on the collision
After the race, Tsunoda felt there wasn’t a clear party at fault. Gasly shared a similar view, confirming there is no bad blood between the two despite the disappointment.
“I can’t fully blame him, it’s not like he turned into me completely,” Tsunoda told the media after retiring from the Saudi Arabian GP.
“At the same time, we knew that’s the tightest corner on this track, and if you go side by side based on our experience, we know what’s going to happen on the first lap and with less grip.
“Obviously, for myself, I was fully in control. It’s not like I was carrying a lot of speed and lost control. I was right behind Carlos [Sainz]. It’s not like I was almost crashing into him,” he explained.
“So, I did as much as I could to avoid it, but just, unfortunately, tightest corner on the track, less grip and first lap. We should take it a step, [be] slightly more cautious, I guess. Both sides, I think.”
Asked whether the disappointment was compounded by the fact that the two drivers are privately friends, Tsunoda stated: “I mean, it’s painful to hit anyone in the first lap, especially Pierre. It’s not an ideal case, but we’re fighting in Formula 1 to have success, so mostly the pain is the DNF, that’s it.”
Focusing on the positives
So far, Tsunoda has only completed three rounds as a Red Bull driver, following his early-season seat switch with Liam Lawson prior to the Japanese GP. While Tsunoda has shown promise—he has made two Q3 appearances in the last two race weekends, already improving on Lawson’s qualifying form—his race day performance has not been flawless.
In Bahrain he managed to add two points to Red Bull’s tally after a P9 finish, but not before tangling with Carlos Sainz, who was forced to retire due to extensive sidepod damage. The start to his Saudi Arabian GP weekend was similarly shaky as he crashed out of FP2 with just eight minutes left on the clock.
Despite these setbacks, the Japanese driver remains optimistic about his performance trajectory. Tsunoda will be hoping for a more straightforward weekend in Miami as he continues to settle into his new role as Max Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull.
“Again I made another step in terms of short run pace. (…) It’s good to have good progress so far and yeah, it’s positive. But at the same time it’s quite a shame that I can’t really get mileage from this race. Every lap for me is important and still counts a lot, so yeah, it’s a shame for that especially,” he said.
