MONTREAL — Yuki Tsunoda will drop 10 places from wherever he qualifies for the Canadian Grand Prix after overtaking Oscar Piastri‘s damaged car during a red flag in practice.
Points leader Piastri clipped the infamous Wall of Champions during final practice, sustaining a puncture and suspension damage to his car.
With debris then falling off Piastri’s car, the session was immediately suspended by a waved red flag, signalling to everyone to return to the pits — drivers are not allowed to overtake in such conditions.
Down the backstraight that leads to the pit entry, Red Bull driver Tsunoda caught the McLaren, which was going significantly slower.
The stewards report noted Tsunoda saw Piastri’s car had “obvious damage” and “said that he was worried that he might be struck by debris from Car 81 and decided to overtake.”
The report noted Tsunoda was going at 171 km/h when he passed Piastri, who was travelling at 86 km/h.
The stewards disagreed with the Japanese driver’s reasoning for passing, handing him a 10-place grid penalty as punishment.
The report said: “While Car 81 had an obvious problem, it was not travelling at such a speed that it prevented Car 22 from following it at a safe distance.
“The circumstances were such that there was no justifiable reason for the driver of Car 22 to have overtaken Car 81.”
Tsunoda has struggled for results since his promotion from junior team Racing Bulls to Red Bull at his home race, the Japanese Grand Prix, in April.
He has scored just four points since the move.
Source: espn.com