Stroll slams “super desperate” Tsunoda for “optimistic” Turn 1 lunge

Battling for 12th place, Tsunoda attempted to overtake Stroll into Turn 1 with a late lunge.

Tsunoda was the only driver in the field to start on the soft tyres as he tried to make the most of the gripper rubber with an aggressive manoeuvre on Stroll.

The Japanese rookie crashed into the side of Stroll, damaging his own front wing, while the floor area on the Aston Martin was considerably damaged.

Stroll revealed that the contact initially cost him 25 points of downforce but the damage got worse as the race progressed, ultimately leading to his retirement.

“I think he started on softs, he’s got a really quick car, so in the first couple of laps he was going to be super quick,” he said. “I think he’s off the pace and he’s super desperate to make a move. Just [from] too far back, I don’t know what he was doing. I guess he’s just desperate and just way too optimistic.

“That contact damaged my car and from there more pieces were falling off, which meant that the pace got worse, and we were just going backwards. I think it started off with 25 points [of downforce] and then it was 45 points; pieces falling off the car onto the track. We were just going backwards.”

Tsunoda was handed a 10-second time penalty for the incident and two points on his licence, bringing up his total for the 12-month period to six points.

The stewards said the AlphaTauri driver was “wholly at fault”, but Tsunoda was unhappy with the severity of the penalty, feeling that a five-second penalty was more suitable.

“Just everything ruined in the collision with Lance Stroll,” Tsunoda explained. “Just, he was not looking at all the back mirror, definitely, he just drove normal line and even I [admit] – it was a risky move – but still, I didn’t have any lock-up in the first bit and I had a little bit of lock-up because I released that he was not looking at all.

“So it’s a shame and that move was there, it was fine, so just. It’s just a shame. But I have to be strong, be back to a strong next race.

“And a 10-second penalty is absolutely-I mean, OK, five seconds, still harsh, but OK, 10 seconds is really ridiculous for me. So yes, it is what it is, and I have to improve next time.”