Pierre Gasly said he couldn’t have done any more to avoid the collision with Yuki Tsunoda which put both drivers out of the race.
The pair tangled at turn five on the first lap of the race. Gasly was attempting to pass Tsunoda around the outside of the corner and had drawn ahead of the Red Bull when they made contact.
The stewards have summoned both drivers over the incident. Tsunoda said “I don’t know what I should have done” to avoid the collision.
“I was behind Sainz, I was fully in control in terms of speed,” he told the official F1 channel. “I was not like nearly crashing into Carlos in front. So it’s hard to justify which is wrong or better.”
The Red Bull driver said his rival did not leave him enough space, but considered the collision “just a racing incident.”
“I don’t think I could have done better than that, to be honest,” he said. “I tried my best to avoid him as much as I can, but also in that kind of space, it’s really hard to avoid. I don’t know what can I do other than that, to be honest.
“We kind of knew, each other, I mean, if you try to go outside from there, other than if he goes half of the car, at least on the white line, it would [have been a] collision. So it was a shame.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
However Gasly said he was as close to the edge of the track as he could be while still being in a position to complete the move legally.
“I think I had a good run in turn four, managed to get good braking and get ahead of him. I was aware he was on the inside so I left as much space as I could on the exit of the corner.
“I had already two wheels off the track, I had to keep my inside wheels obviously inside the white line to make the move past. But unfortunately there was this touch and it just sent my car spinning.”
You say
Should the stewards issue a penalty for the first lap collision between Tsunoda and Gasly? Cast your vote below and have your say in the comments.
Loading …A RaceFans account is required in order to vote. If you do not have one, register an account here or read more about registering here. When this poll is closed the result will be displayed instead of the voting form.
This article will be updated
Miss nothing from RaceFans
Get a daily email with all our latest stories – and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
