Guenther Steiner Defends Yuki Tsunoda After Abu Dhabi Penalty: This Is Racing
Former Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner has argued that Yuki Tsunoda should not have received a penalty at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Tsunoda was hit with a five-second time penalty and a penalty point for diverting Lando Norris off the track and for making multiple direction changes while defending his position during the race.
After Norris, who was chasing Tsunoda’s teammate Max Verstappen in the championship fight, returned to the action following a pit stop, he navigated through the field. As Norris approached the rear of Tsunoda’s Red Bull, he attempted an overtake, but Tsunoda moved to defend, causing Norris to go off the track.
Stewards noted: "Car 4 was attempting an overtaking maneuver on Car 22. Car 22 executed several direction changes, which ultimately forced Car 4 off the track to avoid a collision. In doing so, Car 22 effectively forced Car 4 off the track." Norris was also investigated for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, but Stewards concluded no further action was necessary since Tsunoda was found to be at fault.
Steiner, however, disagreed, saying that Norris’s overtake and Tsunoda’s defense were simply elements of racing.
"I mean, obviously they would deserve a penalty again because all this weaving under braking has become trendy in Abu Dhabi," Steiner remarked with a hint of sarcasm on The Red Flags Podcast.
He added: "Nothing should happen. This is racing. This is what we want to see, the spectators, the fans, want to see... We don’t want the stewards to become popular by handing out fines, drawing attention to themselves.
Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Erik Junius
"No, this was fair; it was racing. Yuki was at the edge of what he did. Lando was also on the edge. It all produced memorable moments of racing. If he stopped doing these things, who the f*** would watch racing? And they don’t understand that because they want to be watched by stewards, and since they did it with Yuki, they had to do it with the other two guys, you know."
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