Grand Prix

Yuki Tsunoda Takes Blame For Jeddah Crash: 'Just turning too much'

Nelson Espinal|
[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] April 5, 2025; Suzuka, JAPAN; Yuki Tsunoda during qualifying for the F1 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Manami Yamada/Reuters via Imagn Images
[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] April 5, 2025; Suzuka, JAPAN; Yuki Tsunoda during qualifying for the F1 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Manami Yamada/Reuters via Imagn Images | Manami Yamada/Reuters via Imagn Images

Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda crashed his RB21 during Free Practice 2 at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, resulting in a red flag and a significant repair job for the team.

Tsunoda is only entering his third race weekend in the Red Bull car, managing to score points in the second Red Bull seat for the first time last time out in Bahrain.

While on a race simulation program during FP2, focusing on long-run pace, Tsunoda crashed the car and took responsibility for the shunt after the session.

More News: Max Verstappen: RB21 'Too Slow' After Red Bull 'Struggle For Pace'

"Just turning too much and clipped the inside wall and just had damage,” Tsunoda explained to F1TV.

"After that, just no control. Apologies to the team, things were looking good, so it's a shame.”

While the crash was seemingly an avoidable driver mistake, Tsunoda did show pace over one lap, finishing P6 and only four tenths off his teammate Max Verstappen.

Tsunoda, as long as he does not make crashing a regular occurrence, will leave a positive impression if he manages to maintain a gap as small as that to Max.

"The qualifying [simulation] lap was pretty good. I was a bit compromised with the [tyre] warm-up, but so far pretty okay,” he said.

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"I had a limited time on the long run which I caused by myself [with the crash] so I can't really complain. It's not definitely not how I wanted to end up, that's for sure.

"The short runs are okay, I just compromised a bit with the warm-up, so there's a bit more [lap time] there.”

The track in Jeddah is known for creating accidents, given the nature of the street track and how close the cars get to the walls.

Each lap is always seemingly on the limit, especially during qualifying, which means there is a small margin of error at every turn.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was not too upset after the incident, seemingly understanding that the track poses risks.

More News: Red Bull RB21 Struggling with 'Temperatures' at the Bahrain Grand Prix

“It [the crash] started with the left front and then he hit the right front, so he's done the front suspension and the front wing. We hope the floor will be okay," Horner said after the session.

“He was on a long run. He's made a mistake, but up until that point he's driven very well so you can see his confidence is coming, his times are starting to come so it's good to see the number 22 car making progress."

“He had a sensible first session. His short runs were good and it was just a shame he's had that moment, but it shows they're all pushing.”

If the Red Bull engineers successfully piece together Yuki's car, it could lead to another strong performance for the Japanese driver.

For more F1 news, head over to F1 on SI.

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Nelson Espinal
NELSON ESPINAL

Nelson Espinal lives and breathes sports. Avidly following of everything ranging from motorsports to Mixed Martial Arts to tennis, he is connected with most of the sports world at all times. His dream of writing about sports started at 16 years of age, writing for a Lakers fans blog, and his passions for sports writing has grown since. He has his Bachelor's degree in Political Science, and a minor in writing literature from the University of California, San Diego.

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