Source: REUTERS/CHRISTIAN BRUNA
[Saba Sports News] The F1 Austrian Grand Prix witnessed an intense qualifying battle, with Dutch driver Max Verstappen of the Red Bull Racing Team emerging as the winner with a narrow margin of 0.093 seconds. Although the race went smoothly without major incidents, Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda used discriminatory language during the race, leading to widespread condemnation from fans. It is reported that during the final stage of Q1, Yuki Tsunoda of the RB Team was about to make his final push when he was overtaken by Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu of the Sauber Team. Dissatisfied with this, Yuki Tsunoda immediately vented his frustration over the team radio, using derogatory language: “These guys are fucking retarded.” Interestingly, the term “retarded” has a non-offensive meaning in the dictionary, which can be used as a clinical term to describe individuals with certain mental developmental delays or to refer to soil types hindering plant growth, among other uses. However, in real-life situations, the term has become both insulting and offensive, and its clinical usage is now rare. Following the race, the FIA stewards accused Yuki Tsunoda of violating Article 12.2.1k of the International Sports Regulations, which pertains to “any inappropriate conduct,” and imposed a fine of 40,000 euros on him. Tsunoda has to pay 20,000 euros immediately, while the remaining 20,000 euros is considered a “suspended sentence,” meaning that if he makes similar remarks during the remaining races in 2024, he will have to pay the remaining fine. Yuki Tsunoda apologized afterward and argued that English is not his native language, and he only realized the word’s special meaning after the incident.