The Jeddah Corniche Circuit has garnered a reputation for being notoriously difficult to overtake on. However, the Grand Prix often compensates for the lack of overtaking with its history of race-altering Safety Car moments.
While not as decisive in shaping the outcome of the 2025 edition of the Saudi Arabian GP, the circuit still lived up to its disruptive nature. Bernd Maylander was called into action on the very first lap of the 50-lap race, following a crash involving Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly.
On the opening lap, Tsunoda and Gasly went side-by-side into the fast left-hander at Turn 4. The Frenchman attempted to hold his A525 around the outside of the #22 driver’s RB21, but the Japanese ace understeered into the #10 car, making contact with its rear-left tire.
The collision sent both drivers careening into the barriers. Gasly came off worse, suffering a completely destroyed rear wing and retiring from the race immediately. Tsunoda, meanwhile, limped back to the pits. Despite no apparent damage to his car, the mechanics opted to retire the 24-year-old from the Grand Prix.
In the media pen, the Alpine driver shared his perspective on the incident. He agreed with what the footage showed—that he had left Tsunoda enough room on the inside. However, when asked whether Tsunoda should have been penalized by the stewards, he took a more neutral stance.
“I’m not really going to comment on that. I know Yuki’s intentions. I know him very well. I know [he] didn’t mean anything but it’s just an unfortunate outcome. Obviously it should not [have] happened,” he explained.
Gasly’s POV on the collision with Yuki. #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/r3On9FhMLG
— Hawk (@Hawk9248) April 20, 2025
Tsunoda and Gasly, in fact, go a long way back. The Japanese racing ace made his F1 debut in 2021 alongside Gasly at AlphaTauri (now RB), and over the two seasons they spent as teammates, the pair built a strong friendship before Gasly moved on to Alpine in 2023.
In fact, the #10 driver was among those who reached out to Tsunoda with a helping hand when it was announced that the Japanese driver would be racing for the main Red Bull team starting from the 2025 Japanese GP.
Naturally, the Frenchman’s comments reflect the mutual respect they share and his understanding that, in the end, their clash might simply have been a racing incident between two former teammates.
