Tsunoda handed 10-place grid drop for Canadian GP after red flag infringement in final practice

Yuki Tsunoda has received a 10-place grid penalty for the Canadian Grand Prix after being found guilty of a red flag infringement during Free Practice 3.

The session was stopped just before the halfway point owing to debris on track at the ‘Wall of Champions’, with Nico Hulkenberg clipping the barrier in the Kick Sauber before Oscar Piastri also had a brush with the wall, leading to the McLaren picking up a puncture.

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While FP3 was able to resume soon afterwards, Tsunoda was noted for allegedly overtaking Piastri when the red flag was out, and it was soon confirmed that the incident would be investigated after the session.

Following a hearing, the stewards decided to give Tsunoda a 10-place grid drop, mirroring the punishment received by Haas’ Ollie Bearman for the same offence in Monaco.

The stewards noted that Tsunoda "saw Car 81 [Piastri] travelling slowly on the left side of the track with obvious damage" with the Japanese driver suggesting "he was worried that he might be struck by debris from Car 81 and decided to overtake".

Looking at telemetry and data, the stewards reported that Piastri had been travelling at 86kph, while Tsunoda's Red Bull was travelling at 171kph when the overtake took place on the back straight.

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The stewards' report added: "Having considered the matter extensively, the Stewards determined that while Car 81 had an obvious problem, it was not travelling at such a speed that it prevented Car 22 from following it at a safe distance.

"The circumstances were such that there was no justifiable reason for the driver of Car 22 to have overtaken Car 81."

The stewards also investigated an incident involving Kick Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto during the same red flag period but deemed no further action was necessary.

Having been handed the penalty in the early stages of Qualifying, Tsunoda eventually finished 11th meaning he will start from the back of the grid in Sunday's race.