Yuki Tsunoda had to pay $52 fine in Abu Dhabi but he’s not willing to accept his fault

F1 drivers tend to go fast even when not on the dedicated tracks and driving on normal roads. Maybe, it’s an instinct for most of them. That’s why Lewis Hamilton often says he doesn’t like to drive normal cars.

Yuki Tsunoda was present in Abu Dhabi for the season’s final race and was given a speeding ticket. Pierre Gasly, who was with him during that particular drive, reveals it in his farewell video by AlphaTauri.

The speeding ticket fine was around $52. Gasly also says in the video that he warned Tsunoda that he was speeding on the road, but the Japanese race driver didn’t heed.

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Yuki Tsunoda says it’s not his fault

When Gasly informed Tsunoda about his speeding offence, Tsunoda went in full denial. The 22-year-old claimed he was not at fault when the fine came in and backed his argument by stating that he had never before been given a speeding ticket.

Tsunoda even claims his foot was not on the gas, so how can his car go above the speeding limit? But Gasly had a contradicting story and said his teammate is a heavy driver.

In the end, Gasly said that Tsunoda has to pay $53 and the Japanese driver won’t lose anything after giving it. Considering Tsunoda earns over a million dollars a year at AlphaTauri, he won’t lose a second with that fine.

They both part ways

In the middle of the season, it was announced Gasly would be replacing Fernando Alonso in the 2023 season. Thus, pinning an end to one of the most adorable partnerships in F1 over recent years.

Gasly has already joined Alpine’s headquarters and working on the next season’s project. Meanwhile, not going with a driver from the academy, Red Bull has selected Nyck de Vries to drive for their sister team by replacing the Frenchman.

Tsunoda will also be driving for AlphaTauri in 2023. This season the Japanese race driver has only improved and shown he deserves the push from his team. Though, none of the academy drivers has been a real threat to him too.

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About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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