Yuki Tsunoda points finger at Liam Lawson for ‘crossing the line’ after Monza clash

Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson had opposing views on their tangle at the Italian Grand Prix.

It was a frustrating weekend for two of Red Bull’s drivers.

While Yuki Tsunoda made it into Q3, he was seven-tenths off Max Verstappen’s pace in qualifying.

A lack of pace in the first stint meant Tsunoda wasn’t in contention for a points finish.

His chances of a top 10 were over after he sustained floor damage following contact with Lawson.

Lawson had started from the back of the field, but an early stop onto the hards moved him into points contention.

Tsunoda, who was much quicker at the time, tried to overtake Lawson into the second chicane.

Lawson tried to hang it around the outside of Tsunoda, and the pair touched, running across the kerb and the mini gravel trap.

Reflecting on the incident with Lawson, Tsunoda felt it was "unnecessary" and that the Kiwi had possibly gone too far with his defence.

"I got distracted by Lawson, who made [contact with me] and that was quite big. I picked up damage and that was big enough to slow me down quite a lot, so very frustrating and very unnecessary for me," Tsunoda said.

"I haven't heard the specific details, but it's not even like a few points, it's really, really big.

"I was gaining one second per lap, and he started last and he was not even fighting for points. I don't know. If you're fighting for points, there's room that I can understand because even with a sister team... we're enemies and especially this position where I'm sitting now is probably my most high competition out of any world.

"But at the same time, there's a line, you can't cross it and I mean, what's the point? I was fighting for points and he wasn't. I don't know what to say."

Lawson’s view

Lawson dismissed the clash as minor, insisting there was “nothing really to it”.

"The race was frustrating, we tried to start on softs and gamble a little bit, and it didn't really work, so sometimes it's like that," Lawson explained after the race.

"I think the car has been fast this weekend, but it's a shame to walk away with no points, but obviously positive to go forward into the next few races with a fast car.

He added: "Yeah, it was just nothing really to it, honestly, he passed me in Turn 1, I tried to pass him back in Turn 4 and I had no room on the right-hand side, so we touched, went through the chicane and then I gave the place back."

RB teammate Isack Hadjar recovered from the pit lane to finish 10th at Monza.