FIA penalty verdict hands Red Bull DOUBLE punishment at Austrian GP

A penalty verdict announced by the FIA at this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix has landed one Red Bull F1 star with a double punishment.

Reigning champion Max Verstappen was knocked out of the race on lap one, but it is his team-mate Yuki Tsunoda who has been punished by F1's stewards in Spielberg.

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Christian Horner's F1 outfit had arguably their worst race weekend to date at their home track in the Styrian mountains, with Tsunoda finishing P16, and last out of those who remained in play after a chaotic race start.

The Japanese racer didn't give up at the back of the pack, battling hard with Franco Colapinto in the closing stages of the race. On lap 31 however, Tsunoda opted for a lunge down the inside of the Argentine star, making contact with his Alpine at Turn 4 as a result.

Tsunoda swiftly pitted and Red Bull were forced to fit a new front wing to his RB21, but the damage to his car seems to be the least of Tsunoda's worries.

As a result of causing the collision, Tsunoda has been hit with not just a 10-second time penalty, but also two penalty points.

Tsunoda FIA punishment verdict in full

The incident between the Red Bull star and Colapinto was investigated by the stewards and as Tsunoda crossed the line plum last in Austria, their full verdict was announced.

After the stewards reviewed video evidence, an announcement from the FIA declared: "Car 22 [Tsunoda] attempted an overtake on the inside on Car 43 [Colapinto] into Turn 4 and both cars collided after the apex.

"The Stewards determine that the driver of Car 22 was fully at fault as the front axle of Car 22 never got ahead of the mirrors of Car 43 before the collision. Hence Car 22 did not have the right to the corner."

The time penalty has not impacted Tsunoda's finishing position, given that P16 was already the lowest he could have crossed the line in after three DNFs and a DNS in Austria.

However, the two penalty points added to his licence do have more staying power, with the Red Bull star leaving Austria with a total of four points to his name.

Perhaps the only positive takeaway for Red Bull this weekend is that finally, two of Verstappen's 11 penalty points have expired, meaning they can breathe slightly easier knowing a race ban is not on the line immediately.

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