Yuki Tsunoda has a strong reputation for being a hot-headed driver, as seen from his radio messages. Since he joined AlphaTauri, he has mellowed down quite a bit on his anger, but sometimes slip-ups happen. At the Austrian Grand Prix, Tsunoda found himself under the radar of the FIA for using profanity in Q1 while in the queue in the pitlane.

When Yuki Tsunoda was waiting in the pit lane, he had to deal with a long wait, but when a Sauber snuck into the queue, he had enough. Out of frustration, he said, “These guys are f***ing r******d,” on the radio. To this, his engineer responded, saying, “Don’t worry, there’s plenty of time,” to diffuse the situation. However, the FIA caught the slur and decided to hold Tsunoda accountable for his words. This came with a fine and penalty after the Japanese driver issued a heartfelt apology.

Yuki Tsunoda pays a €40,000 fine at the Austrian Grand Prix

When the FIA heard Yuki Tsunoda’s radio message, they immediately decided to take action. They noted the vocabulary and summoned him after the qualifiers. He was then given a fine of €40,000 and a half-suspended warning. Tsunoda apologized deeply during the hearing and explained that English is not his first language. Explaining that he did not know the meaning behind the words he uttered.

The VCARB driver added that he was horrified after learning the meaning of the words he uttered and stated that he would not do this again. After the hearing, the fine was charged, and Tsunoda also had to issue a public apology. Tsunoda broke a rule defined in Article 20 of the International Sporting Code.

The insensitive comment made by Tsunoda was ruled out as a mistake, although it did have repercussions. On the other hand, his qualifier session did not go too well either, as he got knocked out in Q2 with a P14 start at the Grand Prix.

Soon after the hearing, Yuki Tsunoda was quick to issue an apology. Here is what the Japanese driver said to everyone after understanding the mistake he made.

Yuki Tsunoda’s apology after the Austrian qualifiers

In the apology, Tsunoda explained what he did wrong on the radio. He took responsibility for his actions and shared his side of the story. Ultimately, he accepted the fact that he made a huge mistake and hope people could forgive him.

His apology read, “I wanted to say big apologies [for] what I said in the radio today. Obviously, I didn’t use it intentionally and was completely misunderstanding from myself that exact meaning of it.” After accepting his fault, he explained, “I now have a better understanding for what the word means and am very apologetic for what I said. This type of language has no place and is not tolerated and for that I am sorry.”

Such heated moments occur quite often in sports, it’s up to each athlete to respect the sportsmanship code. That being said, Tsunoda is no longer as hot-headed as he was during his earlier years in F1. Do you think we will see a similar outburst from Tsunoda after this? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.