Yuki Tsunoda receives a harsh grid penalty at the Canadian GP, while Bortoleto avoids sanction after similar red flag breach.
Yuki Tsunoda has been handed a very heavy 10-place grid penalty for overtaking Oscar Piastri under red flag conditions during the final free practice session of the Canadian Grand Prix.
FP3 was interrupted by a red flag for debris after Piastri hit the Wall of Champions during a flying lap, puncturing his right rear tyre as he slowly made his way back to the pit lane.
Moving slowly off the racing line, Tsunoda then passed Piastri under the red flag, an infraction that normally results in an automatic penalty.
However, Red Bull argued that due to the damage on Piastri’s car, Tsunoda was entitled to overtake the McLaren. The stewards rejected this argument and penalised the Japanese driver.
Tsunoda also received two penalty points, his first within a 12-month period.
As for Bortoleto, who was summoned for the same infraction during FP3, he was travelling down the back straight at 325 km/h when the red flag was deployed. Bearman’s car was moving slowly on the right side of the track. Telemetry showed that 0.6 seconds after seeing the first red flag light panel, the Sauber driver lifted and braked firmly. At that moment, Bearman’s car was only 57 metres away.
Bortoleto explained that the speed difference between his car and the Haas was such that he couldn’t have slowed down quickly enough to avoid passing Bearman. After a thorough review of the situation, the stewards concluded that Bortoleto had done everything reasonably expected of him under the circumstances. He is therefore not penalised.
