Tsunoda blames himself for “unnecessary, stupid” Imola qualifying crash

Yuki Tsunoda has apologised to his Red Bull team after an “unnecessary” and “stupid” crash in qualifying for the Imola GP, which will see him start tomorrow’s race from the back of the field.

The Japanese driver crashed during the first part of qualifying ahead of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix after losing control of his RB21 and making heavy contact with the inside wall.

Tsunoda was taken to the medical centre for precautionary checks and was released before qualifying concluded.

Once cleared by the on-site doctors, the Japanese driver took responsibility for the “unnecessary” incident.

“Yeah, I’m just really stupid… pushing like that,” Tsunoda said.

“I mean, this is very hard and [we] made a lot of changes to the car. So, you know, pushing that hard without understanding enough about the car and just… yeah.

“[It was] just very unnecessary, pushing that hard in the early stages.”

As the dust settled on his violent crash, Tsunoda said the first thing he felt was “very ashamed, disappointed, frustrated.”

The incident marked the racer’s first accident in a Q1 session in four years, after he crashed in Q1 at Imola ahead of the 2021 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.

Now, his team of mechanics will be left with a long repair job in order to get Tsunoda’s RB21 ready to line up on the grid for tomorrow’s grand prix.

“I haven’t talked with them yet, but the only thing I can do is apologise to them,” Tsunoda added.

“Obviously, [the car] has big damage, so the mechanics have to do a lot of work. And hopefully the car will be ready tomorrow – but it’s very unnecessary for them.”

In stark contrast to Tsunoda’s fortunes in qualifying for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, team-mate Max Verstappen lines up second for the race, just behind the McLaren of Oscar Piastri.

Head here to stay up to speed with the latest F1 Imola Grand Prix news, expert analysis, photos and videos.