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Tsunoda retired early on lap seven of the Italian Grand Prix after a collision with Nico Hülkenberg caused extensive damage to his car, abruptly ending his race. He now voices his dissatisfaction with the penalty the German driver received.
The incident, in which the stewards penalised Hülkenberg with a 10-second penalty, has left Tsunoda calling for harsher consequences for the Haas driver.
Tsunoda criticises Hülkenberg’s penalty as insufficient
Following the incident, Tsunoda expressed dissatisfaction, feeling that Hülkenberg’s 10-second penalty did not reflect the collision’s severity.
“What I saw was a white car trying to overtake from inside, pretty far away, with a massive white smoke, and just losing control and smashing into me,” Tsunoda stated, according to gpblog.com.
“I tried to give the space as much as possible, but in the end, it just came straight, so nothing I could have done.”
Tsunoda argues that more should be done, suggesting penalty points should be added to Hülkenberg’s record.
“If he scores points, it’s not enough. And if he doesn’t score points, it’s still not enough,” Tsunoda remarked.
“But I hope he gets penalty points on top of it. I hope so.”
Hülkenberg’s Perspective on the race incident
Hülkenberg also commented on the race, acknowledging the setback caused by the collision with Tsunoda. “Everything went wrong at the beginning of the race, and after contact with Yuki, it was basically over,” Hülkenberg shared on social media.
Despite the early incident, he praised his teammate Kevin Magnussen, saying, “Very happy that KMag drove a great race and scored us one point. Should have been two actually!”
The clash between Tsunoda and Hülkenberg comes amid a close battle in the constructors’ championship, with Tsunoda’s team, VCARB, leading Haas by six points.
While the collision marred Hülkenberg’s day, Magnussen brought home a point for Haas, further intensifying the rivalry.
Feature Image Credit: Rudy Carezzevoli via Getty Images