Why Tsunoda was ruled innocent in aborted Italian GP start
Yuki Tsunoda's 10th-place finish in the 2026 Italian Grand Prix is no longer in jeopardy as the Racing Bulls Formula 1 driver escaped a penalty for causing an extra formation lap at Monza.
After the red flag for Charles Leclerc's heavy lap-two crash, and the resulting lengthy barrier repairs, Tsunoda appeared to miss his grid slot on his way back round for the restart.
The Japanese driver entered the 15th-place grid slot and then last-minute diverted to the right to the 14th-place grid slot instead, which left him pointing slightly towards the pitwall.
That caused the FIA race director, Rui Marques, to initiate an extra formation lap as, per the stewards, "he stated he was not comfortable starting the race with the car in that position".
Tsunoda was investigated for breaching article B5.9.4 of the F1 sporting regulations that reads: "Any driver who caused an extra formation lap, and is then able to start the, or any subsequent, extra formation lap must enter the pitlane at the end of the lap and must start the [session] from the end of the pitlane."
But he did not do so and instead lined up in the 14th-place starting position.
Racing Bulls argued that the car was not in a "false start" position as its front tyres were within the lines of the grid box.
It also argued that, despite the track limits being defined by the pitwalls, the car had four metres to move off from the start.
Furthermore, the team argued that no other driver was impacted by the position of Tsunoda's car, Tsunoda was not the "cause of the extra formation lap", and "at no time" were Tsunoda nor his team told that the extra formation lap was his fault.
The stewards agreed with those points and Tsunoda escaped penalty as the FIA considered the formation lap to be the race director's choice.
As for Article B5.9.4 of the sporting regulations, which imposes a stop-and-go penalty for any driver who causes an extra formation lap and does not start from the pitlane, the FIA reasoned: "The penalty is for failing to come into the pitlane and start from there.
"The penalty is not for causing the extra formation lap, if indeed, he caused the extra formation lap in the first place."
The stewards acknowledged that neither Tsunoda nor Racing Bulls were told they were the cause of the extra formation lap, which is why they escaped a penalty for not starting from the pitlane.
However, the stewards noted that the FIA "might wish to consider" a process to advise the team and driver if they are the cause of an extra formation lap so that a pitlane start can apply.
Tsunoda launched from 14th to 11th at the first corner after the restart, then picked off Haas's Ollie Bearman to essentially secure the first point of his stand-in spell at Racing Bulls.
He had run in ninth, but was passed late on by the Alpine of Franco Colapinto - who had been third on the first lap after the restart before going off through the Lesmo corners.
