Yuki Tsunoda demands penalty action for ‘hot-headed’ Nico Hulkenberg after Monza crash
Nico Hulkenberg and Yuki Tsunoda collide at Monza.
A frustrated Yuki Tsunoda wanted further action taken beyond a 10-second penalty after Nico Hulkenberg forced his retirement from the Italian GP.
Hulkenberg found himself hit with a 10-second time penalty after ploughing his Haas car into the side of Tsunoda’s VCARB at the opening chicane, inflicting what would prove to be race-ending damage for Tsunoda.
Yuki Tsunoda gets his wish on Nico Hulkenberg penalty points
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
Tsunoda was left far from pleased with Hulkenberg after that encounter, insisting that he gave the German racer as much space as he could, but there was nothing more he could do to avoid the shunt happening.
“What I know is a white car trying to overtake from the inside, pretty far away, and with massive white smoke and just losing control and smashing into me,” Tsunoda reflected in response to a question from PlanetF1.com.
“I tried to give the space as much as possible, but in the end, he just came straight, so nothing I could have done.”
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For Tsunoda, a 10-second penalty for Hulkenberg did not go far enough. He wanted to see penalty points also added to Hulkenberg’s superlicence. Two were indeed later added.
Asked if that 10-second penalty is justice served, Tsunoda replied: “Let’s see. If he scores points, it’s not enough. And if he’s not scored points, I mean, it’s still not enough.
“But, hopefully, he needs penalty points on top of it. I hope he does. I don’t know if it automatically comes with the 10 seconds.
“My head right now is not in the right place I guess, pretty frustrated.”
It was put to Tsunoda that Hulkenberg had perhaps got the wrong VCARB to take his frustrations out on.
On the opening lap, Tsunoda’s team-mate Daniel Ricciardo had forced Hulkenberg wide at Ascari and received a five-second penalty as a result.
“He seemed hot-headed,” said Tsunoda in response to that theory, “but wrong person, if it’s that.”
Ricciardo later received a 10-second penalty for failing to serve that initial one correctly, after a mechanic touched the front wing as he entered his pit box.
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