Oliver Bearman has claimed Yuki Tsunoda acted “against the spirit of how we should go racing” during their United States Grand Prix battle. "I felt what he did was against the rules and against the spirit of the regulations and what we race to.
- - Oliver Bearman speaking to Sky Sports after the incident.Oliver Bearman spins after a battle with Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda - Photo: RacePictures
Haas driver
Bearman was battling with the
Red Bull of Tsunoda for seventh place on lap 34 when the Englishman spun at turn 15, as Tsunoda defended the attempted overtake.
Tsunoda went on to finish seventh while Bearman fought back to finish ninth.
Bearman fuming with Red Bull
The rookie Bearman was left fuming and was adamant that the Japanese driver had swerved under braking.
He said: "For me, what he did was unfair.
"It was two laps that I was trying to fight with him, clearly I had more pace at that stage.
“Every time I was looking at the move, on the inside at Turn 12, the inside at Turn 13, and the inside at Turn 15, he was moving in reaction. And moving in reaction is something that we can't do at these speeds with these cars. It's dangerous."
Tsunoda fights back
"I don't think I moved under the braking," Tsunoda revealed to Sky Sports F1.
"It's a bit unfortunate how he ended up, especially as we were having a good fight until then. That's it."
The Japanese driver also commented on Bearman’s criticism of his Turn 1 move in the Sprint, after what was
a difficult weekend for the driver.
“That’s racing, right? I was fully in control, I didn’t have any lockups, and I was literally side by side.
“I’m not his team-mate, I’m just fighting to be in the top 10 or more so yeah, I thought that was OK.”
Is the pressure getting to Tsunoda?
Red Bull has insisted that the decision on their
2026 driver line-up will not be made until after the Mexico City Grand Prix. It is believed by many that Tsunoda will not get a drive with either Red Bull or Racing Bulls.
Tsunoda struggled initially when he was sworn in after just two races to replace the outgoing
Liam Lawson.
The Japanese driver did not score a point for seven races until his resurgence after the summer break has seen him earn three points finishes in five races.