Away from the crashing out of Sergio Perez from his home GP, the biggest news was the clash between Yuki Tsunoda and Oscar Piastri. As the AlphaTauri driver tried overtaking Piastri for sixth place in Lap 49, the Japanese driver spun out and lost control of his car at the same place where Perez collided with Charles Leclerc. The mistake from Tsunoda was a crucial one, as a P8 or higher finish would have seen his team cut down on the gap between them and Williams in the constructor’s standings.
🎙️| oscar piastri talks about his collision with yuki tsunoda at the mexican gp!
he makes a feature on the f1 youtube post-race show to talk about the incident, stating that he “wasn’t expecting yuki to turn right into the breaking zone” 😬
we hope all is well between the two! pic.twitter.com/iAS0geUTeJ
— Piastri News 🍊 (@PiastriNews) October 29, 2023
Tsunoda was well aware of the impact of his mistake and was crestfallen after the race. Per a report from Crash.Net, the 23-year-old was so frustrated with himself that he canceled all his plans and locked himself in a room following his P12 finish in Mexico.
“I was having a good race until then. So, I really had massive frustration and actually, it was hard to digest that frustration on that day. Normally, Mexico, you can enjoy. I actually cancelled everything and just stayed in the room. It was a big moment, and it was an opportunity… P5 was definitely possible.”
Having made a crucial mistake, Tsunoda is confident there is still time for him to make up for it. The Japanese driver added he has learned from his mistake and believes he will do a better job if a similar instance were to arise again. While his mistake cost the team an important chunk of points, a former F1 team boss has blasted the 23-year-old for potentially costing his team millions of dollars.
Yuki Tsunoda might have cost his team a fortune with an avoidable mistake
Former Minardi team boss Paul Stoddart has come forth to take a dig at Tsunoda for his mistake in the Mexico City GP. The Austrian claimed Tsunoda was a “fool” who might have cost his team around $20 million. Explaining the situation, Stoddart revealed there is a $20 million prize difference between P8 and P10 in the constructor’s standings. While AlphaTauri is currently P8 in the rankings, they are safe in no way.
TEAM STANDINGS
Daniel Ricciardo’s P7 helps @AlphaTauriF1 move up from last to P8 👀#F1 #MexicoGP pic.twitter.com/h8NzcRuiy4
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 30, 2023
With 16 points to their name, AlphaTauri currently holds P8 in the constructor’s championship. However, they share the position with Alfa Romeo, who also have 16 points this season. Had Tsunoda secured P8 (at least), he would have added four points to the team’s tally, taking it up to 20, which would have given them some breathing space. Comparing the crash with the Perez’s, Stoddart added Tsunoda’s mistake was worse as he ended up costing his entire team, while Perez only hurt his own aspirations.
