Yuki Tsunoda wants a “discussion” with the FIA after a “ridiculous” penalty cost him points at the Spanish Grand Prix.
The AlphaTauri driver crossed the line ninth in Barcelona but was handed a five-second penalty following a late clash with Zhou Guanyu, dropping him back to 12th.
Unsurprisingly, Tsunoda wasn’t happy and was pretty strong in his criticism of the Alfa Romeo driver.
“It was a ridiculous penalty and it feels really unfair,” he said post-race.
Tsunoda and Zhou go wheel to wheel around Turn 1
A five-second penalty resulted for Tsunoda after race stewards ruled the Japanese driver had forced Zhou off track#SpanishGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/GmxhKKx8gk
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 4, 2023
“When I saw [Zhou coming], I left the room and I feel like he just gave up in the early stages.
“He went outside and pretended like he got forced off the track, but he didn’t. Definitely, there was still space outside.
“Obviously I gave him pressure but there’s still space, so I don’t understand why it was a penalty. It feels really unfair, really harsh.”
Tsunoda was also unhappy that the stewards didn’t wait until after the race to investigate.
“I was really disappointed, but at the same time, [I felt] a bit curious…,” he said of his feelings upon hearing about the penalty.
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“It is good to have a bit of discussion with the FIA because they give five seconds without any discussion and the race is over.
“So, it feels unfair. [I feel] exhausted, flat.”
Zhou, however, had the opposite view.
“I think that was the right thing to do,” Zhou told Sky Sports. “I asked the team to investigate that because, before braking, I was clearly in front and also into the corner.
“The next thing I saw was, mid-corner, Yuki released the brake and went straight into my car and I had to avoid by going off-track.
“So, I think if the stewards didn’t do that, it would have been quite frustrating so I think they made the right call.”
The penalty also had championship implications as Alfa Romeo gained two points to draw level with Haas on eight points, while AlphaTauri remain joint bottom with Williams on one point.