Liam Lawson handed scathing criticism from 'enemy' Yuki Tsunoda

Yuki Tsunoda has questioned Liam Lawson's driving standards at the Italian Grand Prix following their clash during the race.

Tsunoda was one of the earliest drivers in the field to get rid of the medium tyre and joined Lawson at the back of the field after making his stop.

Lawson had already pitted for hard tyres several laps before Tsunoda, having been the only driver on the grid to start on the softs.

As they ran side-by-side through Turn 4, minor contact was made between the pair, resulting in both taking to the escape road where Lawson overtook Tsunoda, before he handed the position back later in the lap.

Tsunoda challenged Lawson's desire to battle as he stated they were having much different races at the time.

“I was gaining at one second per lap,” Tsunoda told media including RacingNews365. “He started last and he was not even fighting for points.

“If he’s fighting for points, there’s room that I can understand.

“Even if it’s the sister team, we’re enemies. This position where I’m sitting now is probably my most highly competitive out of any in the world.

“But at the same time, there’s a line that you can’t cross. What’s the point? I was fighting for points and he wasn’t.”

Tsunoda endured a messy opening lap as he skipped the first corner after coming close to contact with Lewis Hamilton.

The Japanese driver asserted he made the right decision by choosing to avoid making the corner.

“It was clear I was squeezed, he probably didn't even make the corner at Turn 1,” Tsunoda said.

“I'm happy with what I did, happy that I was able to avoid the collision. He divebombed into me.”