Tsunoda Apologizes to Red Bull After Admitting Fault for FP2 Crash at Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda His personal error caused the accident that shortened the second practice session for the Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, where he admitted to turning excessively in the last corner.

At the last hairpin before the main straight, Tsunoda hit the wall with approximately nine minutes remaining. This seemed to damage his steering linkage, leaving him incapable of preventing a collision with the exit barrier.

Tsunoda managed to climb out unscathed and promptly apologized to his Red Bull team for the significant repair work his mechanics will face on Friday evening.

The Japanese driver informed F1 TV, 'I turned excessively and hit the inner wall, resulting in some damage.' He continued, 'Following that incident, I lost control completely.' The driver expressed his apologies to the team, mentioning that prospects seemed promising prior to this mishap, making it particularly disappointing.

Up until then, Tsunoda had an impressive session, clocking the sixth-quickest lap, which was seven-tenths of a second slower than the leader. Lando Norris in the McLaren , trailing his world champion teammate by four-tenths Max Verstappen .

"The simulation lap for qualification went quite well. I faced some issues with the tyre warm-up, but overall it’s been pretty satisfactory," Tsunoda commented.

Yuki Tsunoda, with Red Bull Racing

Image courtesy of: Lars Baron - Motorsport Images

I only had a short window at the end due to my own mistake from the accident, so I can’t really complain. Definitely not how I envisioned finishing things.

"The short runs are okay, I just compromised a bit with the warm-up, so there's a bit more [lap time] there."

Norris headed team-mate Oscar Piastri by 0.163s to lead the second practice, which was held at the same time of day as Saturday's qualifying and Sunday's race, providing a much more representative picture than the sweltering first practice session headed by Alpine's Pierre Gasly .

However, Verstappen and Tsunoda often opt for more cautious engine settings during Fridays, indicating that their performance in Saudi Arabia might not be as problematic on the distinct Jeddah Corniche track compared to their disappointing showing in Bahrain.

Read Also: Saudi Arabian Grand Prix: Norris Leads McLaren Podium Sweep After Tsunoda Crashes for Red Bull