Yuki Tsunoda, Pierre Gasly play down their contact in F1 Saudi Arabian GP, as the Frenchman knows that the Japanese driver’s intention is not to cause crashes.
Having started inside the Top 10 in F1 Saudi Arabian GP, both Alpine’s Gasly and Red Bull’s Tsunoda were looking to make up places and finish ahead of the Williams pair, especially for the Frenchman. The Japanese driver, meanwhile, had the aim of getting more mileage and challenge Lewis Hamilton.
But neither could see end of Lap 1 even. The duo were side-by-side for most part since the exit of Turn 1. Gasly had the inside line into Turn 4-5 sequence and when he tried to turn away from the kerb which caught Lando Norris out in qualifying, he made contact with Tsunoda on the outside.
Gasly retired immediately, as Tsunoda limped back into the pits to retire. The incident was deemed as racing one, even though the stewards thought about a penalty. Both the drivers agreed that either could have done a bit more to avoid, but neither are to be blamed for an unfortunate tangle.
Gasly brushed off his good friend and former teammate Tsunoda’s intentions to be bad in causing a collision. “I had a good run in Turn 4, very good braking because he [Tsunoda] was kind of stuck behind Carlos, so I managed to get out of him in the braking zone,” he said to media. “I was on the inside, so I left him as much space as possible to make sure we both make it through the corner.
“And unfortunately, it looked like he understeered off and had this contact which was quite small but unfortunately sent the car straight into the wall. The incident itself, it’s racing. I know [Tsunoda’s] intentions. I know there’s a huge respect between Yuki and myself, so I know it didn’t mean anything bad. It’s more sort of judgement; first lap, cold tyres, etc.
“At the end, we all fight for our race. It just feels like we could have taken slightly more margin, but at the same time, despite that, it’s motorsport, for a track like this unfortunately can happen. It is more the fact that the car looked strong and I mean I was very confident going into the race that we will have the pace to fight those Williams.
“I think it would have been great, just to at least get a shot at it and see actually what we can get out of it. On a positive note, the whole weekend we were competitive, even on this track, so there is a lot to take but it is just a shame for the whole team not to actually capitalise on a strong weekend that we would have,” summed up Gasly, who lost a chance to score well against Williams.
Tsunoda had similar thoughts to the Frenchman. “I can’t blame fully to him, it’s not like he turned into me completely,” he said to media. “At the same time, we knew that that’s the tightest corner in this track, and to go side-by-side, based on our experience, we know what’s going to happen in the first lap with less grip. And obviously for myself, I was feeling controlled.
“I was carrying a lot of speed and lost the control. I was right behind Carlos. It’s not like I was going to just crash into him. I did as much as I could to avoid him, but unfortunately, just the tightest corner on the track, less grip on the first lap; we should take it a step slightly more cautious, I guess – both side that is.
“To be honest, if I had one more time, I would just leave…like I said, I did as much as I can. It is pain to hit with anyone on first lap, especially Pierre. It is not ideal case but mostly we are fighting for Formula 1 success, it is a pain that it was a DNF,” summed up Tsunoda.
Team boss Christian Horner, meanwhile, felt Tsunoda could have been sixth on the grid to start the race if not for a snap in Q3. That kind of result would have helped him to secure decent points in the race. “It was a shame for Yuki, his Q2 time – if he would have completed in Q3 – he would be sixth on the grid,” he said to media.
“I think it was a racing incident with Pierre, he was up against the wall. Even in the stewards meeting both drivers accepted that it was a racing incident. So, annoying for him [Yuki], because he would have been right in this battle for decent points.”
Here’s how they crashed: https://www.formula1.com/en/video/2025-saudi-arabian-grand-prix-tsunoda-and-gasly-collide-on-lap-1-to-trigger-safety-car.1829945657624731824
Here’s the whole Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri episode
Here’s how F1 Saudi Arabian GP panned out
