F1 News: Haas Owns Up On Illegal Yuki Tsunoda Overtake- "We Should Have Given The Place Back"

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has accepted that the VCARB driver should have got his spot back.

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu acknowledged that Kevin Magnussen should have given the place back to VCARB Yuki Tsunoda after passing him off the track in Jeddah, despite the strategy to aid teammate Nico Hulkenberg score within points.

Key Takeaways:

• Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu admitted that Kevin Magnussen should have returned the position to VCARB Yuki Tsunoda after overtaking him off-track during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
• Magnussen received a 10-second penalty for a collision with Alex Albon early in the race, but his focus shifted to supporting teammate Nico Hulkenberg's race strategy.
• Magnussen's decision not to return the position to Tsunoda, despite the penalty, allowed him to continue blocking rivals while Hulkenberg secured a valuable point by finishing tenth. Komatsu acknowledged that Haas should have attempted to regain the position from Tsunoda, as they were still in contention for tenth place.

Magnussen's performance at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was marred by a 10-second penalty for a collision with Alex Albon early in the race. Despite this setback, his focus shifted to aiding teammate Hulkenberg's race strategy. 

- Haas

This involved holding up rival cars, including Yuki Tsunoda, to create a gap for Hulkenberg, who had yet to pit under the safety car. Instead of yielding the position back to Tsunoda, Magnussen accepted an additional 10-second penalty, which proved inconsequential, allowing him to continue blocking rivals, while Hulkenberg secured a valuable point by finishing tenth.

Commenting on the incident, Magnussen said: 

"I overtook Tsunoda and went outside to track, so rules are rules.

"I'm not happy with myself to get those two penalties, but at least I was able to help the team to create a gap for Nico to pit and get a point.

"It's a tight battle between the five teams at the back. From P6 down to 10th it's a real championship, so every point matters."

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In response to Haas' team strategy, VCARB stated it would take the matter up with the FIA, who upped the time penalty for the same rule from five to ten seconds this year. Komatsu, who was happy about Hulkenberg's P10 finish, said that the position should have been returned to Tsunoda since the VF-24 had enough oomph to overtake him again. Speaking to the media, he said:

"I believe at that point in the race, if I remember the projection very well, we are fighting with Tsunoda for P10.

"Of course, we should have given the place back, we should have tried to overtake him. I believe with our pace we could have done that.

"So, I think the end result we are still looking for P10. Whether we could have achieved it is another story."

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