Pierre Gasly said he couldn’t have done any more to avoid the collision with Yuki Tsunoda which put both drivers out of the race.
However the stewards deemed the collision was a “lap one incident” and chose to penalise neither driver.The pair tangled at turn five on the first lap of the race. Gasly was attempting to pass Tsunoda around the outside of the corner and had drawn ahead of the Red Bull when they made contact.
The stewards have summoned both drivers over the incident. Tsunoda said “I don’t know what I should have done” to avoid the collision.
“I was behind Sainz, I was fully in control in terms of speed,” he told the official F1 channel. “I was not like nearly crashing into Carlos in front. So it’s hard to justify which is wrong or better.”
The Red Bull driver said his rival did not leave him enough space, but considered the collision “just a racing incident.”
“I don’t think I could have done better than that, to be honest,” he said. “I tried my best to avoid him as much as I can, but also in that kind of space, it’s really hard to avoid. I don’t know what I can do other than that, to be honest.
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“We kind of knew, each other, I mean, if you try to go outside from there, other than if he goes half of the car, at least on the white line, it would [have been a] collision. So it was a shame.”
However Gasly said he was as close to the edge of the track as he could be while still being in a position to complete the move legally.
“I think I had a good run in turn four, managed to get good braking and get ahead of him. I was aware he was on the inside so I left as much space as I could on the exit of the corner.
“I had already two wheels off the track, I had to keep my inside wheels obviously inside the white line to make the move past. But unfortunately there was this touch and it just sent my car spinning.”
According to the stewards, the pair agreed neither of them was wholly to blame.
“Car 22 [Tsunoda] and car 10 [Gasly] were battling for track position on the first lap,” the stewards explained. “They navigated four corners without incident but collided [at] turn five.
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“Both parties agreed that this was a lap one incident with no party wholly or predominantly to blame. Although we considered whether this was properly a lap one incident or really an incident between two cars (and no others) on lap one.
“Ultimately, given the narrow track and the fact that car 55 was just in front of car 22, [this] led us to agree with the assessment of both drivers that this should be treated as a lap one incident with no further action.”
You say
Should the stewards issue a penalty for the first lap collision between Tsunoda and Gasly? Cast your vote below and have your say in the comments.
Should Tsunoda or Gasly be penalised for their first lap collision?
- No opinion (2%)
- Strong penalty for Gasly (2%)
- Light penalty for Gasly (5%)
- No penalty for either driver (72%)
- Light penalty for Tsunoda (15%)
- Strong penalty for Tsunoda (5%)
Total Voters: 65
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BasCB (@bascb)
20th April 2025, 20:05
To me this was really just a racing incident. Good the damage was relatively small and nobody got hurt.
Jere (@jerejj)
20th April 2025, 20:18
No penalty for either, but Gasly could’ve gone over the curb to give even more space as an alternative to avoid getting hit.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
21st April 2025, 16:06
The guy making the overtake should be responsible.
It is surprising how backwards the technology is in F1 though. I mean they could easily have a computer keep up with faster drivers during practice, and a ‘virtual radar’ during racing. These are not road cars where you can hear the cars next to you due to their tires.
George (@george)
20th April 2025, 20:30
Both had the choice to back out or risk a crash, both chose the latter. I’d put the blame more on Gasly as he was the one making the move, but I don’t think either deserves a penalty.
Jere (@jerejj)
20th April 2025, 21:29
Pretty much my assessment.
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
20th April 2025, 21:05
Sensible decision. Gasly had the right to go for a move around the outside and left as much room as he could while staying on the track. Tsunoda didn’t outbrake himself and would have made the corner, but was already committed to his braking point by the time Gasly appeared alongside him, so he couldn’t prevent the contact when Gasly occupied the space he was going for. Just a racing incident and unfortunate for both.
AlexS
21st April 2025, 8:12
Should have been a penalty for Tsunoda. He has no business already after several corners to put his front wheel just in front of Gasly rear wheel.
Emr
21st April 2025, 9:51
Yuki had a Williams right in front of him, he gave as much space as possible, Gasly pushed too much and drove left into Yuki
Riccard
21st April 2025, 12:55
I agree with no penalty for either.
It’s harsh for the stewards even to consider say this wasn’t a lap 1 incident. It’s one of the shortest runs to the first corner on the calendar, which is basically a double corner… and the incident happened coming out of that first double corner.
Clearly “lap 1 shenanigans” for me, and justice done: the stewards shouldn’t be looking for excuses to overturn that and penalise.
Red Andy (@red-andy)
21st April 2025, 17:39
I know Tsunoda is a popular guy around these parts but incidents like this show why it was a mistake for Red Bull to promote him. There’s no point qualifying better than the guy you replaced if you’re going to throw it all away with brainless moves on the first lap of the race.
Emr
23rd April 2025, 14:44
Brainless moves? Where was he to go? Meanwhile Lawson continues to pick up time penalties by crashing into other drivers