Yuki Tsunoda’s farewell tour just got more expensive. Red Bull’s been slapped with a €10,000 fine after their departing driver nearly caused a 250kph collision with championship leader Lando Norris during Abu Dhabi’s final practice session. The Japanese driver received a formal warning for camping on the racing line whilst the McLaren came flying through at full chat. Brilliant way to end your F1 career, that.
Here’s the comedy gold. Red Bull’s pit wall told Tsunoda that Norris “was on a cool lap” literally moments after the Brit had avoided smashing into him. Except Norris very much wasn’t on a cool lap anymore. He’d been pushing hard for several corners, rapidly closing the gap whilst Red Bull’s strategists apparently stared at their GPS screens wondering what all those flashing lights meant.
Nothing says “world championship-calibre operation” quite like forgetting to warn your driver that the title leader is approaching at race-winning speed, does it?
When Basic GPS Interpretation Becomes Optional
The stewards’ report makes for delightful reading. They actually had to explain to Red Bull how GPS systems work. Turns out those little dots moving rapidly across the screen represent cars going quickly. Revolutionary stuff.
Norris started his lap looking casual enough. Red Bull interpreted this as a cool-down lap and told Tsunoda to carry on meandering through sector three like he owned the place. Except Norris then decided to actually try, building speed corner after corner until he arrived at turn nine absolutely flying.
“In approaching turn nine it was easily visible on the GPS map available to the teams, that car four was rapidly gaining on car 22, which was on a slow lap. However the team of car 22 continued to only advise its driver about the following cars on push laps.” – FIA Stewards
Translation? Red Bull had plenty of time to warn Tsunoda. They chose not to. The championship leader nearly collected their departing driver at one of the circuit’s fastest sections because somebody at Milton Keynes wasn’t paying attention. Spectacular work from the team fighting for Max Verstappen’s fifth consecutive title.
Norris’s Avoiding Action: The Run-Off Symphony
Picture the scene. Norris comes thundering through turns 15 and 16, probably thinking about whether he can find enough pace to beat George Russell’s practice time. Then he spots Tsunoda cruising along the racing line like he’s testing an autonomous vehicle.
Full braking. Steering lock. Straight into the run-off area. Crisis averted by milliseconds and driver instinct rather than anything resembling competent race engineering.
“There are actually blind people in this sport, it’s incredible.” – Lando Norris
Can’t argue with that assessment, can we? The visibility at that section is already restricted. Add a slow-moving Red Bull appearing where no slow-moving car should ever be, and you’ve got a recipe for the kind of high-speed accident that ruins championships and careers.
Tsunoda immediately apologised, gesturing frantically once he realised what had nearly happened. But apologies don’t prevent 250kph collisions. Radio warnings do. Shame Red Bull didn’t think to provide one.
The Radio Messages That Aged Poorly
Red Bull’s radio traffic before the incident is genuinely hilarious in hindsight. They warned Tsunoda about Charles Leclerc closing. About Carlos Sainz approaching. About Liam Lawson somewhere behind. They gave him detailed gap information to multiple cars.
But the championship leader actively on a push lap? Nah, he’s just cooling down. Don’t worry about him. What could possibly go wrong?
Even better, after Norris appeared alongside Tsunoda in the run-off area looking rather annoyed, the Japanese driver asked if the McLaren was pushing. His engineer Richard Wood confidently replied: “Negative, he was on a cool lap.”
Except footage from Norris’s onboard shows he’d been pushing for multiple corners. Increasing speed. Building momentum. Doing all the things drivers do when they’re definitely not on a cool lap. But sure, trust your initial interpretation rather than the evidence literally flashing across your screens.
Tsunoda’s Double Trouble Day
As if nearly causing a high-speed collision wasn’t enough drama for one morning, Tsunoda also got smashed into by Kimi Antonelli in the pitlane. Mercedes released their rookie directly into the side of the Red Bull, causing significant damage and ending Tsunoda’s session early.
Toto Wolff apologised profusely, admitting Mercedes had “damaged all of the good bits” of Tsunoda’s car. Which is rather unfortunate when you’re trying to end your F1 career on a high note rather than watching mechanics rebuild your chassis between sessions.
That incident earned Mercedes their own €10,000 fine for unsafe release. Williams also collected a €5,000 penalty for releasing Alex Albon into Esteban Ocon’s path. The Abu Dhabi pitlane was apparently operating under demolition derby rules during FP3.
The Farewell Nobody Planned
This weekend marks Tsunoda’s last race with Red Bull before Isack Hadjar takes his seat for 2026. Five years of service. Sixty-odd races. Countless promises that promotion was just around the corner if he kept delivering.
His reward? Getting binned for a rookie who crashed on the formation lap in Australia and spent half his debut season calling his car “Lego” after bits fell off. Plus a formal warning for nearly getting collected by the championship leader because his team forgot how GPS systems work.
The stewards ruled that whilst Red Bull deserved their fine for failing to warn Tsunoda, the driver himself shouldn’t have been “driving in that track position on a slow lap.” Fair enough. Even without radio warnings, perhaps cruising along the racing line through one of the circuit’s fastest sections wasn’t optimal positioning.
Max’s Title Fight Gets Spicy
The timing of this incident adds extra spice considering Max Verstappen trails Norris by just 12 points heading into qualifying. Red Bull’s fighting for their driver’s fifth consecutive championship. McLaren desperately needs Norris to avoid disasters.
And Tsunoda nearly provided the biggest disaster imaginable. A 250kph practice crash between title contenders would have been catastrophic for both championships. The constructors’ battle between McLaren and Ferrari is tight enough without factoring in damaged cars and grid penalties.
Verstappen and Norris already had a minor run-in during Thursday’s first practice session. The Red Bull driver appeared to impede Norris at turn one, prompting questions but no investigation. Now Tsunoda’s nearly taken out the McLaren at ten times the speed.
Red Bull can’t rely on McLaren mistakes to win this title, as they’ve admitted publicly. Perhaps they should focus on not creating mistakes themselves? Just a thought.
When €10k Doesn’t Cover the Cost of Incompetence
Ten thousand euros sounds like a substantial fine until you remember Red Bull’s annual budget exceeds $140 million. That penalty represents roughly 0.007% of their spending cap. They’ll find that down the back of Christian Horner’s old sofa.
The formal warning to Tsunoda matters even less. What are they going to do, not promote him next year? Already sorted, thanks. He’s being replaced regardless of how many warnings he collects this weekend.
The real penalty here is embarrassment. Red Bull Racing, the team that’s won four consecutive constructors’ championships with Verstappen, forgot to warn their driver about the championship leader approaching at race pace. That’s operational incompetence of the highest order.
They had “ample time” according to the stewards. The GPS data was “easily visible.” Every other team on the grid managed to track their drivers and warn about approaching traffic. But Red Bull’s pit wall was apparently too busy discussing what Tsunoda should have for lunch to notice Norris closing at alarming speed.
Qualifying starts in a few hours. Verstappen needs to outqualify Norris to have any realistic shot at the title. Perhaps Red Bull could try checking their GPS screens occasionally? Might help avoid more near-misses with championship leaders.
Will the fine change anything? Or will Red Bull’s operational chaos continue costing them opportunities they can’t afford to lose? One way or another, Tsunoda’s farewell weekend has been memorable. Just not for the reasons anyone hoped.
