Rivals at odds over who brought on first-lap crash in Saudi Arabian GP

Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly have each refused to simply accept the blame for inflicting a race-ending crash for every driver in Jeddah.

Tsunoda’s Purple Bull made contact with the Alpine of Gasly at Flip 4 on the opening lap of the race.

It was certainly one of a sequence of thrilling manoeuvres on lap one, with race winner Oscar Piastri tangling with Max Verstappen on the entrance, incomes the Dutchman a five-second time penalty.

Nevertheless it was the opposite Purple Bull of Tsunoda that banged wheels with Gasly earlier than each have been despatched spinning into the limitations.

Tsunoda mentioned: “It is arduous in charge both me or Pierre. I’ve executed as a lot as I can to keep away from it.

“I used to be absolutely in management by way of velocity and I used to be not, like, virtually crashing into the automobile in entrance, which was Carlos [Sainz].

“I used to be absolutely in management and I attempted to keep away from as a lot as I can, to not hit Pierre, particularly that most likely it’s the most-tight nook of this monitor.

“It’s a disgrace the way it ended up. You would say there was house however from my viewpoint I had no house and I attempted to decelerate to keep away from it.”

In the meantime Gasly, who was seventh final day trip in Bahrain in a constructive end result for the Frenchman, mentioned he was additionally to not blame.

He mentioned: “There is not any have to say an excessive amount of about it. I do know him. It was by no means intentional however on my facet, I had a great line coming into Flip 4, I might brake fairly late and attempt to go away as a lot house as I might on the skin of Flip 4.

“So I have already got the automobile cross the white line. I needed to hold my two wheels contained in the monitor to verify the cross was executed.

“I imply, on the finish of the day, it is a tiny contact, however it’s only a disgrace it’s put a cease to each of our races.”