Mattia Binotto has apologised after offending some people in Japan with his insensitive reference to Yuki Tsunoda in an interview.
The Ferrari chief was speaking to Italian news outlet Gazzetta dello Sport when the subject came up. And in reference to the number of incidents Tsunoda has been involved in – the latest at the Dutch Grand Prix where he retired in bizarre circumstances – he called the Japanese racer a "tsunami".
It cause outrage among some people in Japan, a country which has had to deal with many natural disasters. A particularly large one hit the north-eastern coast in 2011 after a huge earthquake, leaving close to 20,000 people dead.
Asked about the remark ahead of this weekend's Italian Grand Prix, Binotto took the opportunity to say sorry. "Certainly, I need to apologise. It was a mistake by using that word. There was no intention to do anything wrong," he told reporters.
"I am very close to the victims which, honestly, I realise. I think Tsunoda is a fantastic driver. He is a great man and we have a good relationship between the two [of us]. As you said, it was a simple joke but it was a bad joke."
Tsunoda's actions at Zandvoort saw him reprimanded by the stewards for the fifth time this season. That has triggered a 10-place grid penalty for the race at Monza this weekend.
And he incurred the wrath of officials again during Friday practice, when he failed to slow for yellow flags. He was given a further three-place penalty, while he has eight points on his licence now – just four away from becoming the first F1 driver to reach 10 and incur a race ban.
Given his already hefty penalty, AlphaTauri chose to fit new engine components to Tsunoda's car. It means he will start the race from the back of the grid, but he was going to be there anyway regardless and now has a new power unit in his pool to work with for the rest of the season.
