Yuki Tsunoda’s streak of securing two consecutive top-10 finishes came to an end at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Tsunoda expressed his frustration after being forced to retire from the Chinese Grand Prix due to a collision with Kevin Magnussen. The Japanese driver had already been grappling with a challenging weekend at the Shanghai International Circuit, as his side of the RB garage struggled to find pace.
Starting the race in 19th position, Tsunoda had been making some headway despite the genuine pace issues. However, his progress was halted when Magnussen spun him at Turn 6 on Lap 27.
The collision resulted in visible damage to the right rear of Tsunoda’s car, including a puncture, forcing him to limp his wounded VCARB 01 off the circuit.
Following the incident, Tsunoda was asked about his level of frustration, considering the positive progress he had made before the clash.
“Yeah, I think I was pretty happy with my progress until then with my current, I would say situation with what I can do,” Tsunoda stated.
“I think pretty frustrated how I ended up especially just as I gave him quite a lot of space and just ended up in a DNF so yeah, it’s pretty frustrating. Very annoyed.”
The accident was deemed to be Magnussen’s fault, leading to him receiving a 10-second time penalty along with two penalty points.
Despite the penalty, Magnussen was able to carry on with the race, while Tsunoda could only observe from the RB garage.
This incident encapsulated the 23-year-old’s most challenging weekend of the season, as he admitted to lacking his usual pace.
“10 seconds is better for sure than five seconds,” said Tsunoda. “And I think that’s the minimum penalty that they should give.
“I mean, he’s still racing and I’m not so… “I kind of right that race was a shame that I ended up finishing in the middle of the race.
“Just still lots of things to work on, I think the pace itself wasn’t also still great. I was pretty happy with how I was doing, the progress in terms, but still, the pace itself wasn’t great or what’s normal.”
