Tsunoda rages at Hamilton and calls for penalty during Brazilian GP qualifying

Yuki Tsunoda was left furious during qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix on Friday, calling for a penalty for Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton after he was eliminated in Q1.

The AlphaTauri driver’s best lap time was only good enough for P16 during Q1, sending him out of contention along with team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, both Alfa Romeo drivers and Williams’ Logan Sargeant.

Replays showed the Japanese driver was impeded by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly on the pit exit with Tsunoda only marginally avoiding contact with the outside wall.

However, fans were played Tsunoda’s team radio message after his elimination, in which he exclaimed: “Penalty, that was a penalty. Lewis Hamilton. Lewis Hamilton.”

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This left some confused with no replays of an incident between Tsunoda and Hamilton played on the broadcast, and it was suggested that the AlphaTauri driver may have confused Gasly’s Alpine for a Mercedes.

Gasly was placed under investigation for his car positioning in the pit lane exit, along with Alpine team-mate Esteban Ocon, who impeded Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the same manner.

The 27-year-old Frenchman was involved in another dramatic pit-lane incident earlier in the session, swearing at Mercedes’ George Russell at the start of Q1 after he was impeded by the No.63 car.

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These incidents were the product of new regulations introduced by the FIA for the Brazilian GP with the sport’s regulating body attempting to stop drivers from sitting stationary at the end of the pit lane during qualifying.

Explaining the new changes ahead of the weekend, race director Niels Wittich explained: “As per article 33.4 of the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations, drivers are not allowed to go unnecessarily slow, that includes stopping a car in the fast lane of the pitlane.

“During Shootout and Qualifying, drivers may create a gap between the pit exit lights and the SC2 line. Any driver who wishes to do so must drive as far to the left as possible to allow other drivers to pass them on the right side of the pit exit road.”

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