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Yuki Tsunoda revealed that his stoppage during the 2022 F1 Dutch GP was a result of confusion caused by the data received by AlphaTauri. The Japanese driver complained that radio confusion led to his absurd stop which continued into the next lap only to bring his race to an end.
Speaking to the onsite print media, including Sportskeeda after the race at Zandvoort, Tsunoda said:
“I thought there was an issue. For me, it was quite clear [there was a problem] at the left rear, so I got told by my engineer to stop. But we didn't see any clear issue in the data. That is why we rejoined to get back to the pits to fit a new tyre. After that, we saw a clear issue in the data, that is why we stopped.”
Yuki Tsunoda said he suspected an issue on the left rear of the car when his engineer had asked him to stop. When his team could not find an issue with the data, he was asked to continue. After a slow pitstop where they retightened his seatbelts, the AlphaTauri driver faced an issue with his car’s drivability as he got out of the pit exit which forced him to retire from the race.
Explaining the sequence of events after he continued the race and came into the pits, the 22-year-old said:
“When I accelerated from the pit exit, it felt like only one wheel was having wheelspin. For me, it was like I was drifting down the straights, countersteering down the straights. So I didn't think it was normal. They just retightened the belts.”
Radio silence caused the pitstop confusion with Yuki Tsunoda
The Japanese driver explained that he felt that his wheelspin out of the pit exit was due to the hard compound tire, but it was actually the issue suspected with the rear parts initially. Yuki Tsunoda revealed that his engineer had immediately asked him to stop, but his radio not working led to confusion.
Describing the confusion behind his confusion, the AlphaTauri driver said:
“We fitted a new tyre again. I thought first the wheelspin happened because it was a hard tyre, but I felt a clear issue in the rear parts. The engineers confirmed an issue, so that is why I stopped. I don't know, because I didn't have the radio.”
Despite the clarification given by Yuki Tsunoda and AlphaTauri, conspiracy theorists have been screaming foul play at the bizarre pitstop, which led to Red Bull strategist Hannah Schmitz receiving abuse online. The accusative fanbase believes that the Japanese driver was made to stop deliberately to aid Max Verstappen in winning his home race.
In theory, it was the opposite. Although the Dutchman received a free pitstop due to the Virtual Safety Car period triggered by Yuki Tsunoda’s stoppage, he switched to the hard tires, which were Red Bull’s Achilles' heel. The tire compound subsequently caused him to lose time to his 2021 rival Lewis Hamilton. Ironically, it was the Briton’s former teammate Valtteri Bottas’ retirement that aided the Dutchman with the more crucial pit stop to soft tires. This, in turn, led to him claiming a second consecutive win on his home track.
