Yuki Tsunoda "not throwing anything away" despite…

Yuki Tsunoda insisted he is not throwing anything away after another tough race weekend at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

While his Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen put in an incredible drive from a pitlane start to a podium finish in P3, Tsunoda struggled with two penalties and finished 17th.

In addition to his grand prix struggles, the Japanese driver was knocked out in the first round of qualifying for both the grand prix and sprint race, finishing the sprint in 13th.

"The whole weekend has been a difficult one for myself," Tsunoda explained in the Red Bull debrief. "We tried lots of things as a team, some which worked and others that didn't. I had a good start to the race on the hard tyre and made up a couple of positions before using the safety car to pit early.

"Unfortunately, there was contact with Lance and I had to serve a penalty which made it really tricky to have a positive result today, the extra pitstop also hurt us. I'm not throwing anything away, and in the last stint I showed good pace. I'll continue to do what I can to maximise from here until the end of the season. Credit to Max also, it was an incredible drive from him and he scored some great points for the team in the constructors'."

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies added: "With Yuki, he lost a lot of time today with his 10-second penalty and then we made a mistake on our side and incurred another. So, it is a shame that it doesn't seem to be going our way with Yuki.

"His last stint was strong and if you removed those two penalties, he would have ended up fighting for points. We will be wishing to have a slightly quieter weekend in Vegas but with everyone's support again at track and back home on Campus, we will be ready to fight no matter the circumstances."

Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing Team (Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images)

Why was Yuki Tsunoda penalised during the 2025 Brazilian Grand Prix?

Tsunoda was first handed a 10-second penalty and two penalty points for a collision with Aston Martin's Lance Stroll.

"On lap 6, Car 22 (TSU) approached Turn 8 carrying much more speed than the cars ahead, closed up on the inside behind Car 18 (STR), and made contact with the rear of that car, causing a collision and forcing Car 18 into a spin," the stewards explained.

"The Stewards determine that Car 22 was wholly responsible for the incident, and the standard penalty for causing a collision was applied."

The Red Bull driver was then handed a further 10-second penalty for failing to serve the first penalty properly.

"The Stewards reviewed video evidence which showed that Car 22 entered the pit lane to serve a 10-second time penalty. While the car was stationary for the purpose of serving the penalty, a mechanic immediately began working on the car by loosening the left rear wheel nut with a wheel gun before the 10 seconds had elapsed," the stewards noted.

"Under Article 54.4 c) of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations, no work may be carried out on a car while a time penalty is being served. For the avoidance of doubt, any physical contact with the car, whether by hand, tool or equipment, constitutes “working” on the car.

"As the mechanic initiated work before the expiry of the penalty period, the penalty was not served correctly. The Stewards therefore impose an additional 10-second time penalty."