This is Tsunoda's reaction after hindering Verstappen and Perez

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23:52, 06 Nov 2021

Yuki Tsunoda was criticised by Max Verstappen, Helmut Marko and Christian Horner after the qualifying session for the Mexican Grand Prix. Nobody in the Red Bull Racing camp understands what Tsunoda was doing in the closing stages of Q3.

What is certain is that his sudden manoeuvre prevented Verstappen and Sergio Perez from improving, meaning that pole position went to Mercedes.

It's also ironic that Tsunoda wasn't even aiming for a good result in Q3. The Japanese driver would have started from the back of the grid anyway due to a grid penalty. Only Pierre Gasly benefited from Tsunoda's presence, as the Frenchman received a slipstream from his teammate.

Tsunoda has since reacted to the criticism via social media for the first time. In a short statement, he says that in his opinion he didn't have much other choice than to leave the track on that specific spot.

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	267
2	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	201
3	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	191
4	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	171
5	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	155
6	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	127
7	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	116
8	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	71
9	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	51
10	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	41
11	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	29
12	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	21
13	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	18
14	Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Bortoleto	AudiAUD	10
15	Nico Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg	AudiAUD	6
16	Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz	WilliamsWIL	6
17	Alexander Albon Alexander Albon	WilliamsWIL	5
18	Esteban Ocon Esteban Ocon	HaasHAA	3
19	Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso	Aston MartinAST	3
20	Yuki Tsunoda Yuki Tsunoda	Racing BullsRCB	1
21	Lance Stroll Lance Stroll	Aston MartinAST	0
22	Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas	CadillacCAD	0
23	Sergio Perez Sergio Perez	CadillacCAD	0

This is Tsunoda's reaction after hindering Verstappen and Perez

Tsunoda speaks out for the first time

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