"Snot Nose" Tsunoda ‘nearly got sent home’ on U.S. arrival for Las Vegas GP

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emailBy Chris Medland | November 21, 2024 10:39 AM ET

RB driver Yuki Tsunoda says he “nearly got sent back home” by customs officials when trying to enter the United States for this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Formula 1 is racing in the United States for the third time this season, following earlier events in Miami and Austin — the latter just a month ago. However, Tsunoda says he was questioned for a number of hours by border control, having faced no issues entering the country for previous races.

“Luckily they let me in after a lot of discussions — I nearly got sent back home,” Tsunoda said. “But yeah, we had a discussion and everything’s all good now.

“I had the visas and everything; it’s been the same as I guess the last three tracks, right? I was able to enter smoothly for the previous [races], so it felt a bit strange that I got stopped. Hopefully that will sort things and in the future it will go smoothly.”

Tsunoda says his grasp of English made the situation challenging because he believed he wasn’t allowed his trainer alongside him when being questioned, and could not seek help from his RB team either.

“There was my physio I travel with; obviously when you have a question or when you go to customs you go individually. Suddenly I went to the room, he just put me in the room and we had a conversation like, ‘Can I bring the person that I travel with and maybe he can help a little bit to explain a bit more about myself and the situation in Formula 1?’ But they didn’t allow me to bring that friend or even call anyone.

“I wanted to call the team as well or Formula 1, maybe a person that can help me, but in that room you can’t do anything, so just [on your own].”