Red Bull Racing’s strategy to mitigate Max Verstappen’s penalties has come under scrutiny following revelations from Yuki Tsunoda’s team radio communications. During the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix qualifying session, Verstappen was involved in multiple incidents of impeding other drivers, including Tsunoda. Despite expectations of a grid penalty, Verstappen received only a reprimand and Red Bull was fined €5,000. The stewards justified this by noting that Verstappen had not been warned about Tsunoda’s approach, attributing the oversight to a lack of communication from the team .
This decision sparked controversy, with several teams questioning the leniency shown to Verstappen. The FIA later admitted that a grid penalty should have been imposed for at least one of the impeding incidents, acknowledging the inconsistency in their disciplinary actions.
Further analysis of Tsunoda’s radio messages during the incident revealed that he was not informed about Verstappen’s position on the track, leading to the impeding situation. This lack of communication raised concerns about the coordination between Red Bull and its sister team, AlphaTauri, especially since AlphaTauri did not send a representative to the stewards’ hearing, an unusual move that fueled speculation about intra-team strategies.
In response to the controversy, Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner denied any undue influence over AlphaTauri’s decisions and emphasized the independence of the stewards’ judgments . Nonetheless, the incident has intensified discussions about transparency and fairness in Formula 1, particularly concerning the relationships between affiliated teams and the consistency of penalty enforcement.
