Red Bull’s Christian Horner criticises stewards: “There should have been consistent decisions”. Red Bull Team Principal cannot understand why race control penalised Yuki Tsunoda after FP3.

Red Bull Team Principal cannot understand why race control penalised Yuki Tsunoda after FP3, yet none of the seven drivers under investigation after the Canadian GP received any penalty

Tsunoda: from 11th to last
Even during the Canadian Grand Prix, penalties handed out to several drivers before the race were not lacking—three of which were quite severe. Excluding Gasly and Lawson’s pit lane starts—made inevitable by power unit changes on the Alpine and the Racing Bulls cars—the most talked-about decision was the ten-place grid penalty given to Yuki Tsunoda, along with two penalty points on his FIA Super Licence.

According to race control, the Red Bull-backed Japanese driver overtook Oscar Piastri under red flag conditions during FP3, at a moment when the World Championship leader was slowly returning to the pits after hitting the ‘Wall of Champions’. The overtake occurred at around 170 km/h, meaning Yuki Tsunoda had to launch a recovery from 18th and last on the grid, eventually finishing in twelfth place.

Seven drivers under investigation, no penalty
The penalty, however, was criticised by Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner, particularly in light of what occurred in the final stages of the race and during the cooldown lap after the chequered flag. Following the collision between the two McLaren drivers and the subsequent safety car deployment, no fewer than seven drivers were placed under investigation by race control for overtaking behind the safety car—yet none received penalties, only warnings.

It was a decision that did not sit well with the British team boss, who expressed his frustration to the media: “Yuki was nailed on Saturday for an overtake, and then some cars overtook while marshals were on track after the race, so we expected some consistency again,” he said, then commented on Tsunoda’s performance: “Once the tyres cleaned up, I thought he did a good job, and you can see how difficult it is to overtake here, so I think Yuki should take some confidence from that. If he’d started from his proper grid position, where he qualified (11th), he would’ve scored points. I think he needs to avoid trying to do what other drivers are doing—like adopting Max’s setup—and instead follow his own path and work on what suits his style and needs. I think he’s made progress.”