Audi lodges formal appeal against Tsunoda's Italian GP penalty reprieve to promote Bortoleto into points

Audi has committed to formally appealing the FIA stewards’ decision to clear Yuki Tsunoda of causing an extra formation lap at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, with the German manufacturer believing the rulebook leaves no room for interpretation.

Tsunoda triggered an additional formation lap at the race restart after race director Rui Marques deemed the Racing Bulls driver’s positioning in his grid box — angled towards the pitwall — to be unsatisfactory. Under Article B5.9.4 of the F1 2026 sporting regulations, any driver who causes an extra formation lap is required to start from the end of the pitlane. The customary sanction is a stop-and-go penalty, converted to 30 seconds added to race time.

The stewards reviewed the incident post-race but declined to apply the penalty, accepting Racing Bulls’ argument that Tsunoda had not left his grid slot and had not impacted his competitors. Race director Marques added that his decision to abort the start was taken out of an abundance of caution, and crucially, Racing Bulls had never been formally notified by race control that Tsunoda was the cause of the extra lap — meaning the team had no grounds to instruct him to start from the pitlane.

Audi’s interest in the outcome is direct and concrete. Gabriel Bortoleto finished 11th at Monza, one place behind Tsunoda, and would be elevated into the points should the appeal succeed and Tsunoda’s result be overturned.

Following the race, Audi lodged a notice of intention to appeal, triggering a 96-hour window to study the regulations and decide whether to proceed. That window closed on Thursday night, and sources have confirmed to Autosport that the team will follow through with the full appeal procedure.

Audi’s position is that the regulations are unambiguous: a driver who causes an extra formation lap must start from the pitlane, regardless of whether race control formally communicated that to the team. The manufacturer contends that because Marques himself judged Tsunoda’s grid position to be the reason for aborting the start, the penalty should have been automatic.

Even if the appeal does not ultimately overturn the stewards’ verdict, Audi has indicated it is seeking formal clarification from the FIA on how the rule should be applied in future situations. The FIA has not yet announced a date for the appeal hearing.