Scuderia AlphaTauri have condemned the backlash and hurtful conspiracy theories surrounding Yuki Tsunoda’s retirement from the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon.
Social media was full of theories on why Tsunoda stopped on track at the Circuit Zandvoort, bringing out a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) whilst his AT-03 was recovered.
The VSC allowed Oracle Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen to pit for fresh tyres and keep himself ahead of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team duo Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
Hannah Schmitz, the Head of Strategy at Red Bull, was the victim of a lot of the abuse thrown the team’s way following the retirement, with many hinting it was a deliberate act to keep Verstappen at the head of the field in front of his adoring home fans.
The Issues
Tsunoda initially stopped on track when his team informed him that one of his wheels was not attached properly to his car. The Japanese racer was about to get out of the car when he was then told the wheels were all correctly fitted.
He re-joined the track and returned to the pit lane to have his seat belts refastened, before returning to the track. However, on returning to the track, another problem arose, possibly around the differential on his car, and he was instructed once more to stop and this time retire.
He stopped at a relatively safe spot and got out of the car, but the race officials felt a VSC was needed to recover the AT-03 in a safe manner.
The Response
AlphaTauri hit back at the conspiracy theorists with a statement on Monday, and they gave the full backing to Red Bull’s Schmitz and everyone within the Faenza-based team.
“It is incredibly disheartening to read some of the language and comments directed at our team and towards Red Bull Racing’s Head of Strategy, Hannah Schmitz,” said the statement.
“Such hateful behaviour cannot be tolerated, and to entertain accusations of foul play is unacceptable, untrue and completely disrespectful towards both Hannah and us.
“We have always competed independently, fairly and with the highest levels of respect and sportsmanship.
“Yuki had a failure that the team didn’t immediately detect which caused him to stop on track. To suggest anything different is insulting and categorically incorrect.”
