‘Desperate’ Tsunoda blasted over ‘dangerous’ defending at the United States GP

Yuki Tsunoda’s defending at the United States Grand Prix was not only “dangerous”, it was “desperate”, with Oliver Bearman adamant that only his quick reactions prevented a big crash.

Bearman and Tsunoda came close to tangling in Sunday’s United States Grand Prix as the Haas driver attempted to overtake the Red Bull driver at Turn 15, only to find himself cutting the corner across the grass before he went spinning.

Yuki Tsunoda told: This is not the way we go racing

Bearman and Tsunoda were racing for position at the Circuit of the Americas with the Red Bull driver ahead of the Haas and doing his best to defend the position.

But according to Bearman, Tsunoda’s erratic antics bordered on dangerous.

The Japanese driver was, Bearman reckons, repeatedly moving under braking and did it again as they approached Turn 15, which forced Bearman to take evasive action.

“He went left in the braking,” the Briton explained to PlanetF1.com and other media outlets in Austin. “There was a space when I committed and then there wasn’t once I was getting closer. He braked and he moved.

“Of course, it’s not a typical corner, it’s not a straight entry, but he was also moving into Turn 12, into Turn 13, so it’s not like that was his excuse.

“I felt like what he did was quite dangerous, against the spirit of how we should go racing, and against the image that we should project to kids growing up and karting and stuff.

“This is not the way we go racing.

“He was swirling all over the place for a few laps, and when I finally did stick my nose in and attempt the move, he moved in reaction. Didn’t leave a car’s width of track. And that’s unfair. That’s not allowed.

“And that caused me to avoid. It could have caused a huge crash, honestly, without my quick avoidance. So it’s a big shame.

“It shouldn’t be allowed. And you know, although maybe it’s in a grey area of the regulations, but moving in the braking zone is not fair. It’s dangerous, and it causes big crashes like this. We’ve seen it numerous times.”

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Yuki Tsunoda a ‘bit desperate’ ahead of Red Bull F1 2026 deadline

Tsunoda went on to finish the grand prix in seventh place while Bearman was ninth.

Bearman’s incident with Tsunoda wasn’t the Japanese driver’s only moment of the weekend as he twice railed against Liam Lawson in Sprint qualifying and qualifying, before tagging the Racing Bulls driver at Turn 1 at the Sprint.

The Briton says Tsunoda’s actions in the penultimate race before Red Bull announces its 2026 driver line-up, was a bit desperate.

“I’ve also seen the way Yuki has been driving this weekend,” he said. “In the Sprint race, he sent it up the inside in Turn One and took out his sister car in the main race. He did the same thing in Turn One again.

“So I feel like driving maybe a little bit desperate, and that was shown in his defence.”

Asked if he had issues with Tsunoda in the past, Bearman replied: “No, but I feel like he has this issue with other drivers.

“And you know, even he was fighting against Charles [Leclerc], who is not even in the race with him, like, why are you defending from him? It just seems silly.”

Yuki Tsunoda defends his racing

Tsunoda, however, feels he did nothing wrong.

Bearman’s argument was put to him, but insisted their tussle was nothing more than racing.

“I don’t think I moved under braking,” he said. “It’s just a bit unfortunate how we ended up in that race like that, especially as we were having a good fight until then.

“That’s racing, right?

“I was fully in control, I didn’t have any lockups, and I was literally side-by-side. I’m not his teammate, I’m just fighting to be in the top 10 or more so yeah, I thought that was OK.”

Additional reporting by Elizabeth Blackstock

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