– According to information from Motorsport-Total.com, Formula 1 newcomer Audi will appeal the decision of the race stewards not to penalize Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda at the 2026 Italian Grand Prix in Monza, despite Tsunoda causing an additional formation lap.
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In a statement, Audi had already announced on Sunday evening its intention to challenge the decision. This gave the German factory team a 96-hour window to examine the regulations more closely, prepare its argumentation, and ultimately decide whether to pursue the appeal. This deadline expires on Thursday evening (September 10).
At the upcoming hearing before the FIA’s Court of Appeal, the decision of the race stewards will be reviewed again. What Audi hopes to achieve: a retroactive penalty against Tsunoda and thus a corrected result, which would move Audi driver Gabriel Bortoleto up to tenth place – and thus into the points. Bortoleto had finished eleventh in Monza, seven seconds behind Tsunoda.
What Race Director Rui Marques has to do with the case
The controversial situation had already occurred before the actual race start: Formula 1 Race Director Rui Marques was not satisfied with the way Tsunoda was positioned in his starting box, as his car was angled towards the pit wall. Therefore, Marques ordered another formation lap.
The FIA race stewards investigated the incident after the race but decided not to impose the usual stop-and-go penalty on Tsunoda. Since the penalty could no longer be served at that time, it would have been converted into a 30-second time penalty.
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But Article B5.9.4 of the 2026 Formula 1 Sporting Regulations states: “Any driver who causes an additional formation lap and is subsequently able to participate in this or another additional formation lap must enter the pit lane at the end of the lap and […] start from the end of the pit lane.”
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Why Racing Bulls was not informed
Tsunoda’s Racing Bulls team argued, however, that their driver was not outside his starting box and had no influence on his competitors.
Marques also explained that he acted out of particular caution. Therefore, Racing Bulls was not informed by race control that Tsunoda was considered the cause of the additional formation lap. For the team, there was thus no reason to instruct their driver to start from the pit lane. The race stewards followed this interpretation of the regulations.
How Audi might argue now
Audi reportedly holds the view that the regulation for drivers causing an additional formation lap is clear. One possible argument is: If the race director considered Tsunoda’s position on the grid problematic enough to abort the start procedure and order another formation lap, Tsunoda should have started from the pit lane regardless of other circumstances.
Regardless of whether Audi can change the decision in Tsunoda’s case with the appeal, Audi also aims to obtain clarification for similar cases in the future. However, it is still unclear when the hearing before the Court of Appeal will take place. Thus, the race result from Monza remains provisional for now.
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