During the Dutch Grand Prix last weekend at Zandvoort, Yuki Tsunoda stopped his car on the side of the track, thinking that a wheel was not properly fixed after a pit stop. After verification, the Japanese driver was able to continue, but he still had time to loosen his safety harness, a maneuver for which he will be penalized at the next race in Monza. On the following lap, the AlphaTauri number 22 stopped permanently due to a differential issue, triggering the virtual safety car (VSC).<\/p>\n
Having opted for a two-stop strategy, Max Verstappen, who was leading at that moment of the race, was able to take advantage of the situation by making another pit stop and benefiting from fresher tires. In pursuit of the Dutchman, the Mercedes drivers were unable to capitalize on their initial plan of a single pit stop, leading to speculation of a possible conspiracy by AlphaTauri in favor of their big sister, Red Bull. In fact, the head of the German team, Toto Wolff, didn’t miss the opportunity to point it out.<\/p>\n
\u00ab If we were fighting for the championship, that’s something I would look into closely. The driver took a lap without being strapped in. They gave him his belts back, he returned to the track and stopped again. That probably changed the result of the race that we could have won. With “ifs”, we can change the world. I have already moved on \u00bb, declared the Austrian boss.<\/p>\n
To denounce these accusations, the Faenza team has released a statement on its social media platforms.<\/p>\n
It is incredibly discouraging to read certain statements and comments directed towards our team and Red Bull Racing’s Strategy Manager, Hannah Schmitz. Such odious behavior cannot be tolerated, and spreading accusations of cheating is unacceptable, false, and completely disrespectful towards Hannah and us. We have always raced independently, fairly, and with the highest level of respect and sportsmanship.<\/p>\n
Yuki had a problem that the team didn’t immediately detect and that forced him to stop on the track. Suggesting something different is insulting and categorically incorrect.<\/p>\n
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