The classification of the Italian Grand Prix could still change after Audi notified the FIA of its intention to appeal the stewards’ decision not to penalise Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese driver had initially appeared to be incorrectly positioned on the grid for the restart, leading race control to order an additional formation lap beyond the standard procedure.
However, the circumstances proved more complicated than they first appeared. Racing Bulls was able to demonstrate that race control had independently decided to order the extra formation lap, even though Yuki Tsunoda’s car was ultimately inside its designated grid box. That distinction cleared the driver of a penalty, but Audi does not agree with the outcome and has formally notified its intention to appeal, giving the team a further 96 hours to decide whether to proceed.
Why Yuki Tsunoda avoided an Italian GP penalty
The case centres on why Yuki Tsunoda was not penalised despite regulations stating that any driver who causes an additional formation lap and is subsequently able to continue must enter the pit lane and start from there. Yuki Tsunoda did not do so.
As he approached the grid, the Racing Bulls driver initially headed towards the left-hand side before realising that he was almost stopping in the wrong grid position. Once Yuki Tsunoda noticed the mistake, he immediately changed direction and moved across to the correct grid box on the right-hand side.
The problem was that the limited space available prevented Yuki Tsunoda from positioning the car perfectly straight. His Racing Bulls therefore came to a halt at an angle. That detail became central to the stewards’ reasoning and ultimately explains why no penalty was imposed, while also providing the basis for Audi’s dissatisfaction with the decision.
Race control ordered the extra formation lap even though Tsunoda was inside his grid box
Racing Bulls acknowledged that the car was not perfectly aligned, but its representatives argued that Yuki Tsunoda’s position could not have produced a false start because, in their view, no part of either front tyre was outside the grid box. The FIA also has additional cameras mounted around the trackside panels specifically to verify details of this kind.
The crucial point is that race control decided an additional formation lap was necessary to allow Yuki Tsunoda to line up correctly. Racing Bulls, however, was never informed that its driver was being considered responsible for causing that extra lap. As a result, the team was never instructed to bring Yuki Tsunoda into the pits so that he could start from the pit lane, as the regulations would normally require.
In other words, although Yuki Tsunoda’s grid position prompted the situation that resulted in another formation lap, the key questions are who was actually responsible for ordering it and whether it was necessary in the first place.
The evidence presented by Racing Bulls appears to support the conclusion that repeating the procedure was not required because Yuki Tsunoda remained within his grid box. Instead, race control made the decision independently based on an assessment of the situation without having a complete view of the car’s exact position.
FIA stewards explain why Yuki Tsunoda could not be penalised
The stewards highlighted another fundamental problem: Yuki Tsunoda and Racing Bulls would have needed to know that they were considered responsible for the additional formation lap before they could reasonably be expected to comply with the requirement to start from the pit lane.
“A critical issue emerges here: in order to comply with the requirement to enter and start from the Pit Lane, a driver would need to know that he was the cause of the extra formation lap,” the stewards explained in their decision not to penalise Yuki Tsunoda.
They continued: “The team, based on the fact that the car was positioned within its starting grid box in compliance with the regulations, had, in our determination, no reason to instruct its driver to enter and start from the Pit Lane. Accordingly, irrespective of whether or not the driver directly caused the extra formation lap, the team and driver were unaware that they were being considered as the cause. Therefore, we determine that we are unable to impose a Stop and Go penalty in this case, and decide to take no further action.”
Race control had clearly acted in good faith when deciding to order another formation lap. From the outside, Yuki Tsunoda did appear to be incorrectly positioned on the starting grid. It is precisely this aspect of the case, however, that led Audi to signal its intention to appeal, with the team hoping the outcome could ultimately allow Gabriel Bortoleto to gain a point.
Why Audi disagrees with the stewards’ reasoning
The stewards and Racing Bulls established that Yuki Tsunoda’s actual position did not require another formation lap and that the decision was primarily the result of race control’s interpretation of what it saw.
Audi’s position, however, is that without Yuki Tsunoda’s initial mistake there would have been no situation for race control to assess in the first place. From the Hinwil team’s perspective, Yuki Tsunoda therefore remains the underlying reason the additional formation lap became necessary.
The distinction is subtle but potentially important. Racing Bulls’ case rests on the fact that Yuki Tsunoda eventually positioned the car legally inside the grid box and was never told that he had been deemed responsible for the extra lap. Audi, by contrast, appears to be focusing on the sequence of events that caused race control to intervene at all.
Audi has 96 hours to decide whether to proceed with its appeal
Under Article 15.4 of the FIA International Sporting Code, competitors have one hour following a stewards’ decision to notify their intention to appeal.
Audi’s notification does not mean the team has already committed to formally challenging the verdict. Instead, it opens an additional 96-hour window in which Audi can study the case more closely and determine whether there is sufficient basis for an appeal before deciding whether to proceed.
Until that process is resolved, Yuki Tsunoda remains unpenalised. Any subsequent change to the result could also affect the championship point awarded at Monza, with the latest positions available in the 2026 Formula 1 drivers’ standings.
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