Yuki Tsunoda says he was given an “unfair” penalty in the Spanish Grand Prix because rival Guanyu Zhou pretended he had been forced off the track.
The AlphaTauri driver was given a five-second time penalty after the stewards ruled he forced his rival off-track at turn one on lap 56.
“It was a ridiculous penalty,” Tsunoda told media including RaceFans at the Circuit de Catalunya after the race. “It feels really unfair.”
Tsunoda held the inside line for turn one when he came under attack from Zhou. He accused his rival of feigning being forced wide.
“I left the room and I feel like he just gave it up early stages,” said Tsunoda. “He went outside and pretended like he got forced out.
“But definitely there was still space outside there. Obviously I give pressure but there’s still space behind me. So I don’t understand why there’s a penalty. Feels really harsh.”
The penalty was announced before the end of the race. Tsunoda said the stewards should have spoken to the two drivers before issuing it.
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“It’s good to have a bit of discussion with the FIA because they gave five seconds without discussion and race is over,” he said. “It feels unfair.”
The stewards ruled Zhou was entitled to be given racing room but Tsunoda did not leave him enough. “Car 24 [Zhou] was in front at and after the apex of turn 1 and hence under the driving standards guidelines was entitled to racing room. Car 22 [Tsunoda] moved across to the outside of the corner, forcing car 24 off the track.”
AlphaTauri’s head of vehicle performance Guillaume Dezoteux praised Tsunoda’s driving but acknowledged he failed to leave Tsunoda enough space. “Yuki drove fantastically,” he said. “He was able to stay with Ocon for most of the race, which is encouraging regarding our race pace.
“Unfortunately, while defending Zhou in turn one, he didn’t leave enough space at the apex and received a five-second penalty for this, ending up P12.”
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