With team-mate Max Verstappen leading the race, doing everything he needed to in order to secure a fifth consecutive championship, Tsunoda was instructed by Red Bull, to try and keep Lando Norris behind for as long as possible.

However, despite weaving down the straight, Norris eventually did get past the Japanese driver at the first time of asking, and went on to cruise to a third place finish, subsequently taking the world championship. Tsunoda would be hit with a 5-second penalty during the race, for weaving down the straight.

Speaking about the incident with Norris, Tsunoda stated: "I could tell there was some stress from them {the Red Bull pit wall}, but I'm like 'look, I know what to do.' We talked about it, I tried my best to defend as much as possible, there's not any benefits to letting him go easy. That's it, I tried my best but he just came quick and overtook me."

When asked why he didn't try to slow Norris down through the final sector, which is notoriously difficult to overtake in, Tsunoda said: "I thought about it, but he was also quite far away. The gap was still eight tenths, nine tenths. He was closing up, five tenths per lap."

Tsunoda continued: "I thought I could hold on one more lap, but he maximised the performance in Turns 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, and closed the gap in one {lap}. He did well, but I don't think there's much difference, even if I slowed massively, because he probably would overtake me into Turn 1."

When asked about receiving a penalty for the incident, Tsunoda responded: "I don't know what they're thinking. As usual, very harsh."

Tsunoda will be replaced at Red Bull by Isack Hadjar for the 2026 season, as the Japanese driver stays with the outfit, as a reserve driver.

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