How Red Bull tried to save Verstappen's Sprint with Tsunoda

Verstappen already had his penalty given to him, after an unsafe release by his pit crew. Chances of him scoring points completely went out of the window on paper after the Safety Car was deployed for the incident between Liam Lawson and Fernando Alonso, as the Spaniard's car ended up in the barrier.

Over the team radio, in the final corner before the chequered flag, Tsunoda was asked by his race engineer to keep eight car lengths of distance from the car ahead, Oliver Bearman.

The Japanese driver did not understand what was meant by that, especially after he was told to stay close to Lawson as it was expected that he will get a penalty for the aforementioned incident.

Tsunoda was also told that the request came in late, and that he will be given a explanation in the garage.

Eventually, Alexander Albon, Liam Lawson and Oliver Bearman all received five-second penalties for various reasons after the Sprint, changing up the original order. Tsunoda therefore finished in P6.

For Verstappen, having Tsunoda create a gap would not have made a difference in terms of points. Bearman, who at the time was running in P9, crossed the finish line 2.2 seconds behind the Dutchman. Therefore, once both of their penalties would be applied, with the Dutchman having a more severe one, Verstappen would have finished in ninth place even if he would be ahead of Tsunoda.