Yuki Tsunoda believes he could have taken the lead at the Brazilian Grand Prix if not for the safety car and subsequent red flag that interrupted the race.
The Japanese driver made a bold decision to switch to extreme wet tyres as heavy rain began to fall on the Interlagos circuit. At one point, Tsunoda, along with teammate Liam Lawson, was lapping up to five seconds faster than the rest of the field, giving them a significant advantage. However, with many drivers sticking with intermediates as conditions worsened, race control had no choice but to deploy the safety car.
The situation took a turn when Franco Colapinto crashed his Williams while trying to catch up with the pack after a pit stop, prompting a full red flag stoppage.
Tsunoda, who had been running in third place before pitting, saw his position evaporate under the red flag rules, which allow teams to change tyres freely during a stoppage. As a result, Tsunoda eventually finished eighth, but was later promoted to seventh following a 10-second penalty handed to McLaren’s Oscar Piastri for an earlier collision that sent Lawson spinning at Turn 1.
Reflecting on the turn of events, Tsunoda explained, “Switching to the extreme wets was the right decision. It was just the safety car and the red flag that ruined our gamble. Without those interruptions, I probably would have overtaken a lot of cars and maybe even ended up in P1.”
Tsunoda’s finish marked a strong result for the Faenza-based team, which is currently battling for sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship. Lawson also scored points in the race, though the team lost ground to Alpine, who earned two podium finishes.
Tsunoda emphasized the difficulty of the conditions, saying, “It wasn’t easy. If you lose concentration, it can have a big impact. I enjoyed the final stint, fighting with Oscar [Piastri]. I did my best to stay within 10 seconds and kept it clean to secure P7, which is a solid result.”
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