Motor racing-Tsunoda gets 13-place grid drop after string of reprimands

AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda will have a 13-place grid drop for Sunday's Italian Formula One Grand Prix after racking up reprimands and collecting a further sanction for ignoring warning flags on Friday. The Japanese picked up his fifth reprimand in 15 races at last weekend's Dutch Grand Prix for driving on track with his seat belts loosened.

AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda will have a 13-place grid drop for Sunday's Italian Formula One Grand Prix after racking up reprimands and collecting a further sanction for ignoring warning flags on Friday.

The Japanese picked up his fifth reprimand in 15 races at last weekend's Dutch Grand Prix for driving on track with his seat belts loosened. Previous offences -- in Australia, Bahrain and Monaco -- were for driving unnecessarily slowly and hindering other drivers.

At the Dutch Grand Prix he had stopped on track thinking a wheel was loosely attached, undoing his seat belts in the expectation of having to get out of the car. Instead, the Red Bull-owned team told him the car was safe to continue and he then drove back to the pits in an unsafe condition.

Under Formula One's sporting regulations, receiving five reprimands -- at least four of them for driving offences -- during a season triggers an automatic 10 place grid drop. Tsunoda was handed a further three-place drop for failing to slow when yellow warning flags were waved during second practice at Monza.

He was also handed two penalty points, taking his tally for the 12 month period to eight. Drivers who accumulate 12 in the space of a year get an automatic race ban.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)