FIA announce LATE demotion for Red Bull F1 star at Imola Grand Prix

Photo: © IMAGO

Imola Grand Prix

FIA announce LATE demotion for Red Bull F1 star at Imola Grand Prix

A late change at the Imola Grand Prix!

Matthew Hobkinson Lead Editor

F1 Editor & Journalist

Sunday 18 May 2025 11:54 Updated: 12:31

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The FIA have announced that Red Bull F1 star Yuki Tsunoda will be required to start the Imola Grand Prix from the pitlane.

Tsunoda suffered an almighty crash during qualifying that saw his Red Bull flip upside down.

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The Japanese driver spun into the Villeneuve corner just after Tamburello and the car flipped as he approached the barrier, landed upside down before the roll hoop turned him back over.

Thankfully Tsunoda walked away from the incident and was given the all clear following medical checks.

Yuki Tsunoda facing pitlane start at Imola

Tsunoda's crash was so early in qualifying that he failed to set a time and was therefore facing a P20 start on the grid for lights out.

However, Red Bull have been forced to make a flurry of changes to the car that will now see the 25-year-old start from the pitlane instead.

An official document from the FIA confirmed that Red Bull changed Tsunoda's internal combustion engine, turbocharger, MGU-H (motor generator unit-heat), MGU-K (kinetic), energy store, control electronics and exhaust system.

The statement confirmed that: "For the re-build of car 22 after the survival cell change, the Oracle Red Bull Racing team used several components of different specification.

"Therefore car number 22 should now be required to start the Race from the pit lane according to Article 40.9 a) of the 2025 Formula 1 Sporting Regulations."

The decision has now been confirmed by the stewards, with Tsunoda facing an uphill battle in his hunt for points at Imola.

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Red Bull Lewis Hamilton FIA Yuki Tsunoda Imola Grand Prix