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An already difficult week for Yuki Tsunoda only got worse when he was handed his third different grid drop of the Italian Grand Prix weekend after failing to slow down for a set of yellow flags during Friday’s second practice.
Following an investigation, Tsunoda was given a three-place grid penalty for not slowing sufficiently enough after Mick Schumacher’s Haas came to a halt during the session. The stewards ruled that “it was clear that [Tsunoda] did not reduce speed as required” as he neared Schumacher’s disabled car on the side of the track at Monza.
The grid drop marked the third such penalty that the AlphaTauri driver received for the Italian Grand Prix. The first punishment knocked Tsunoda back 10 places on the grid after he became the first F1 driver to garner five reprimands this season. The 22-year-old Japanese driver earned that fifth reprimand at the Dutch GP when he drove with his seatbelts loosened during the race when there was confusion over whether he needed to retire his car or not.
After the initial penalty, AlphaTauri opted to give Tsunoda’s car a new suite of engine components at Monza, resulting in an automatic back-of-the-grid penalty for this Sunday’s race.
The team’s decision means that Tsunoda’s third grid drop can’t knock him back any further than he already is, but he will also receive two penalty points for his actions. That takes his total to eight, just four points shy of the 12-point limit that triggers a race ban.
No F1 driver has reached that 12-point mark since the penalty points system was introduced in 2014.
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