Oliver Bearman has criticised Yuki Tsunoda over what he perceived to be “reckless and desperate” driving during the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix.
Sitting in eighth on Lap 35, Bearman was angling to make a move on Tsunoda into Turn 15 when he was made to take evasive action to avoid the Red Bull.
Tsunoda had appeared to move under braking going into the corner, causing Bearman to skip across the grass, pitching him into a spin that cost him time.
While Bearman recovered to ninth, he was furious that the stewards took no further action, labelling the move “against the way Formula 1 should be raced.”
“What he did was quite dangerous, against the spirit of how we should go racing and against the image that we should project to kids,” Bearman told media including Motorsport Week.
“This is not the way we go racing.
“He was swathing all over the place for a few laps, and when I finally did stick my nose in and attempt the move, he moved in reaction, didn’t leave a car’s width, and that’s unfair.”
Bearman calls on FIA to address ‘grey area’
Bearman has called on the FIA to clarify the regulations, citing that the close call was dangerous and could have resulted in a major incident.
However, as the rookie highlighted, there is a small “grey area” within the racing guidelines which allows incidents like this to go unpunished.
“That’s not allowed, and that caused me to avoid. It could have caused a huge crash without my quick avoidance, so it’s a big shame,” he added.
“But moving in the braking zone is not fair, it’s dangerous and it causes big crashes like this. We’ve seen it numerous times.”
Bearman emphasised that his somewhat reckless driving reflected a growing sense of unrest from Tsunoda, who is battling to secure his Red Bull future.
“I feel like he’s driving maybe a little bit desperate, and that was shown in his defence today,” he suggested.
“He has this issue with other drivers, and he was fighting against Charles, who is not even in the race with him, like, why are you defending from him?
“It just seems silly what he’s doing, so it’s just not thinking forward. Silly driving in my opinion.
Bearman made his frustrations clear when asked whether he would confront Tsunoda directly. “No, because I don’t think he will change,” he responded.
On the other side, Tsunoda rejected any claims made by his rival, insisting his defence was fair and that the incident was simply an unfortunate racing incident.
“I don’t think I moved under braking,” Tsunoda told Sky Sports F1.
“It’s just a bit unfortunate how it ended up, especially because we were having a good fight until then. I’m not his team-mate, I’m just fighting for being in the top 10.”
READ MORE – Why Oliver Bearman feared F1 ban after US GP Sprint penalty
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