Max Verstappen, Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull, FIA, Imola, 2025 — Photo: © IMAGO

United States Grand Prix

'Dangerous' and 'unfair'! - Red Bull star slammed after US GP battle

A Red Bull star made a questionable move

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Monday 20 October 2025 21:53

An F1 star launched a lengthy tirade against a rival driver after a battle on track at the United States Grand Prix.

While Max Verstappen secured his 68th career victory in Austin, team-mate Yuki Tsunoda managed a seventh-place finish, and progressed from a starting grid slot of P13.

As he tried to hold onto seventh however, Tsunoda came under pressure from Ollie Bearman in the Haas on lap 34, with the Brit attempting an overtake at Turn 15.

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Tsunoda abruptly closed the door on Bearman who then spun, and finished the US GP down in ninth.

The move left Bearman furious, however, and he labelled Tsunoda’s move as ‘unfair’ and ‘dangerous’ in the media pen where he launched a lengthy rant.

"For me, what he did was unfair. I felt what he did was against the rules and against the spirit of the regulations and what we race to," Bearman said to Sky Sports F1 after the race.

"It was two laps that I was trying to fight with him, clearly I had more pace at that stage. Every time I was looking at the move, on the inside at Turn 12, the inside at Turn 13, and the inside at Turn 15, he was moving in reaction. And moving in reaction is something that we can't do at these speeds with these cars. It's dangerous."

"When I went for the move on the inside on that occasion, he saw me do that and reacted to my move. And by the time I'm committed to braking, I can't disappear.

"Honestly, we're very lucky to have avoided a big, big crash. Just very disappointed that it resulted in P9 for us today."

Bearman takes aim at Tsunoda

Bearman didn’t stop there however, and went as far as to suggest Tsunoda was desperate to prove himself and cling onto his seat at Red Bull.

The US GP marked Tsunoda's sixth points finish in a grand prix this season, but he still remains 278 points behind team-mate Verstappen in the standings, and is likely to be replaced by Racing Bulls star Isack Hadjar.

"No, I don't think it's the first time he's done something like that and it's definitely not going to be the last time," Bearman added.

"Clearly with the way he's driving… I mean we saw him in qualifying yesterday complaining, he's trying really hard and it's not working.

"Twice in turn one he dive-bombed on lap one, taking incredible risks, so I don't even think it's worth trying to make him understand my view."

Tsunoda in turn appeared confused regarding Bearman’s criticism and dismissed the move as a consequence of racing.

"That's racing, right? I was fully in control, I didn't have any lock-ups, and we were side-by-side," he said.

"I'm not his team-mate, I'm just fighting to be in the top 10 or more. I thought it was ok.

"I don't think I moved under the braking," Tsunoda added. "It's a bit unfortunate how he ended up, especially as we were having a good fight until then. That's it."

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