‘Fool’ Yuki Tsunoda blasted for ‘throwing away’ $20 million at Mexican GP

Yuki Tsunoda’s incident with Oscar Piastri in Mexico has been roundly criticised by a former F1 team boss.

Tsunoda lost any chance of a points finish at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez when, battling for position with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, he made a similar error in judgement to Red Bull stablemate Sergio Perez at Turn 1.

The Japanese driver squeezed Piastri, with the pair making contact, resulting in Tsunoda being pitched off into the escape area and falling down the order to eventually come home in 12th place – having looked on for eighth place, at least.

Paul Stoddart labels Yuki Tsunoda a ‘fool’ for racing incident

Former Minardi F1 team boss Paul Stoddart, writing in hiscolumn for RacingNews365.com, singled out the incident for scathing criticism.

“What a fool!” he wrote about Tsunoda.

“It was so obvious that he and Piastri would clash at some point.

“Those four points he threw away for eighth place are so incredibly important to the team. You’re talking roughly about some $20 million difference in prize money between P8 and P10 in the Constructors’ Championship.

“Although they are now eighth, they are only a shared eighth with Alfa Romeo on 16 points. Had Tsunoda simply secured those points, which were really up for grabs, they would have 20 points and be comfortably clear of Alfa Romeo and Haas.

“That’s also the difference between Perez and Tsunoda. Tsunoda short-changed the entire team, whereas Perez only short-changed himself.”

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Paul Stoddart: I’d have punished Yuki Tsunoda for that move

澳大利亚没有阻挡在他的批评啊f the Japanese driver, who will remain with AlphaTauri next season, labeling Tsunoda’s mentality a “problem” and that “if I had been Franz Tost, I would have done something to him after that move.”

Stoddart said that Tsunoda is “only fighting for his own success, not thinking about the team”.

“They could have taken 10 points together with Daniel Ricciardo’s seventh place,” he said.

“But four of them were thrown away by sheer stupidity. And of course, I personally feel extra love for AlphaTauri, since it is my old Minardi team that was taken over by Red Bull.

“When I finished 10th and last with Minardi in the Constructors’ in 2005, I didn’t think 18 years later that it would continue finishing 10th. That is why this result would have been so great and why I am so annoyed with Yuki.

“He threw away four points that could just equal $20 million and all for nothing, other than impatience and not putting the team first. I’m really, really, really disappointed in him.”

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