Yuki Tsunoda found himself in front of the FIA stewards after a start procedure issue at the Italian Grand Prix. The Japanese driver was called in for an investigation regarding a grid position problem during the restart at Monza.
The incident occurred on the lap 6 restart, which followed a red flag for Charles Leclerc's crash on lap 2. Tsunoda, who started from 14th on the grid, appeared to park outside his grid slot as he took his position. This immediately caught the attention of race control, but the final decision was left to the stewards after the race.
In the official summons, Tsunoda and his team, Racing Bulls, were cited for an alleged breach of Article B5.9.4 of the FIA F1 Regulations, concerning start procedure. Despite this, Tsunoda insisted he felt neither disadvantaged nor gained an advantage from the incident.
“I was a bit confused starting between 14 and 15. In my view, I didn't really gain the position before the red flag. I thought I was 15th,” Tsunoda said, as quoted from Motorsport.com. “But at least I parked behind the box, pretty far, so I don't think I gained any advantage for that. So let's see. I hope everything is okay.”
Regardless of the investigation, Tsunoda's performance at the Italian GP was solid. He managed to finish in tenth place, securing his first point of the season in only his second race with Racing Bulls. His teammate, Arvid Lindblad, did even better by finishing eighth after a thrilling slipstream battle in the midfield.
For Tsunoda, this season marks a new chapter after losing his regular seat at the end of last year. He is now Red Bull's reserve driver and has returned to Racing Bulls to replace Liam Lawson, who moved up to Red Bull Racing to fill in for the injured Isack Hadjar.
The positive result at Monza is a valuable asset, but his future in F1 still awaits the stewards' decision. If found guilty, Tsunoda could face penalties that might affect his race result. Fans certainly hope the investigation ends with a fair outcome, given his impressive performance at the historic Italian circuit.
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