Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies has admitted that a mistake by the pit crew compounded Yuki Tsunoda‘s miseries at Formula 1‘s Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Tsunoda’s torrid spell at the Milton Keynes-based squad continued during the race weekend at Interlagos.
The Japanese driver found himself lapping close to team-mate Max Verstappen during qualifying on Saturday, but at the wrong end of the field.
With the Dutchman struggling to make it out of the first phase of qualifying with just the 16th fastest lap, Tsunoda lagged behind in 19th.
Come race day, the 25-year-old’s afternoon went from bad to worse after he made contact with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll in the opening stages.
Not only did he lose crucial time and track position, but the stewards also deemed him responsible and handed him a 10-second time penalty.
After his round of pitstop, however, the stewards noted that the penalty had not been served correctly, ensuring that he had to serve it again.
As a consequence, Tsunoda took the chequered flag in 17th – the last of the classified runners. Mekies has now taken the onus on himself and the team.
“It’s a bit unfortunate. He lost a lot of time in that contact [with Stroll]. Got the extra 10 seconds penalty,” Mekies told media including Motorsport Week.
“Then we made a mistake on our side. We got another 10 seconds extra penalty. So it’s a shame.”
The Frenchman insisted that the penalties had overshadowed the fine work Tsunoda was doing behind the wheel of the RB21 up until that point.
“It doesn’t seem to be going our way. His last stint in clean air is strong. You can do it yourself if you take the race plot and remove these two times 10 seconds,” he continued.
“You actually end up in a decent fight for points. But again, it’s the same thing, would and should not win races. So we can only pocket the last strong stint in free air that he has done.”
Tsunoda rues F1 Brazil GP complications
Ever since the summer break, Tsunoda has felt confident strapped into the RB21. The floor upgrades, putting him at parity with Verstappen, have seen a sharp uptick in his one-lap pace.
That said, the Japanese driver has conceded that long runs are an aspect he still needs to get to grips with Red Bull’s package.
At Interlagos, however, he revealed that he felt he had a strong command over his race pace, only to be undone by factors “not in my control”.
“I think I had some damage. But it was not so big, I would say, and to be honest, I didn’t notice the contact,” he recalled.
“After that, I think the pace was okay, especially the last stint. But I was out of position. It’s a shame about the penalties and the extra pit stop, it was not in my control.”
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