Yuki Tsunoda ‘ashamed’ of hero mindset after monster Imola crash

Red Bull Racing driver Yuki Tsunoda has placed the blame for his Imola qualifying crash solely on his shoulders.

The driver told media that he was ashamed that he’d wrecked because he’d approached his first flying lap with a ‘hero’ mindset.

Yuki Tsunoda ‘ashamed’ of himself after crash

Yuki Tsunoda brought out an early red flag during the first qualifying session ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix with a nasty crash.

In the early stages of Q1, Tsunoda was flying around the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari when he lost the rear of his car in Turn 6.

Tsunoda skimmed through the gravel, then struck the tyre barriers. The impact of the crash saw his RB21 flip over, collide with the fence, and then bounce back onto the gravel on all four tyres.

The Japanese driver was able to walk away from the crash, though his mechanics will have a late night making the repairs necessary for the RB21 to take the start of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Speaking to media after being released from the medical centre, Yuki Tsunoda said that the first thing going through his mind was that “I was just very ashamed, disappointed.

“It was really stupid for myself, pushing like that, unnecessarily hard.”

Tsunoda noted that his No. 22 crew had “made a lot of changes” to the car throughout practice and leading up to qualifying. Tsunoda again called it ‘unnecessary’ that he was “pushing that hard without understanding enough about the car” so early on in qualifying.

Having gone straight from the medical centre to speak to media, Tsunoda hadn’t had a chance to debrief with his team.

“The only thing I can do is apologize to them and just pray,” he said.

“The car obviously had a big damage, so the mechanics have to do a lot of work until tomorrow; hopefully the car will be ready.

“Very unnecessary for them, and for myself putting them in the wrong situation.

“I think the team is supporting me enough to take off pressure as much as possible.

“I just tried to be a hero in Q1, which is unnecessary. Aiming too much, aiming myself to pass Q1 in just one set.”

His attempt at making it through to Q2 with just one flying lap was ultimately his downfall.

Without a time on the board, Tsunoda will start the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix from 20th position, though there is a chance that late-night repairs could lead to a pit-lane start.