Explained: Why was Yuki Tsunoda awarded a penalty point in the 2023 F1 Spanish GP but Pierre Gasly wasn't?

Yuki Tsunoda received a five-second penalty and one point on his super license for forcing Zhou Guanyu off the track at the Spanish GP. Meanwhile, his former teammate Pierre Gasly wasn't awarded penalty points for double-impeding in qualifying on Saturday. Let's take a look at why the Frenchman didn't get penalty points on his super license.

Gasly initially posted the fourth-fastest time in Q3, clocking a flying lap of 1m12.816s, which positioned him 0.544s behind Max Verstappen, who secured an impressive pole position for Red Bull. However, he received two sets of three-place grid penalties for impeding both Verstappen and Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz.

Under the 2023 F1 regulations, drivers won't receive penalty points for impeding drivers in qualifying, as was the case for Charles Leclerc, who impeded Lando Norris in Monaco.

Meanwhile, in Yuki Tsunoda's case, the driver was awarded a five-second penalty and one penalty point on his super license for forcing Zhou Guanyu off track during the main race. The Japanese driver was penalized for his driving standards and now has five penalty points on his license.

Since the incident occurred during the main race, the AlphaTauri driver was penalized. In contrast, Gasly's impeding incident occurred during qualifying, which is why he was pardoned under the new regulations.

Yuki Tsunoda amongst Honda's targets for Aston Martin in 2026

Aston Martin and Honda have officially declared their collaboration for the 2026 season, aligning themselves for the new era in Formula 1.

With this announcement, speculations arose regarding the future of Yuki Tsunoda in the sport. The 23-year-old Japanese driver, who is supported by Honda, currently competes for AlphaTauri, a team powered by Honda's engines.

Tsunoda has emerged as a contender for the Aston Martin Honda project and could be a potential candidate for their driver lineup in 2026.

Koji Watanabe, Honda Racing Corporation president, confirmed the speculations as he told the media:

"Of course, there are Japanese drivers who would be challenging and we would like them to become candidates."

Watanabe added:

"We're very happy to see [Tsunoda] succeeding. But talking about the future, we still have three years to go so it’s too early for us to say what will happen. I don’t think it's the time to talk about this. But we're hoping that he will become a candidate. But it's up to the team to make the final decision."

With Yuki Tsunoda putting in more consistent performances than ever before, it will be interesting to follow his career over the years.