Yuki Tsunoda was questioned by customs officials for around two to three hours (Image: GETTY)
has revealed that he was almost denied entry into the United States ahead of this weekend’s . The Japanese driver said officials questioned him over the reason for his visit for around three hours.
“They let me in after a couple of discussions, well, a lot of discussions,” said Tsunoda. “Actually, I nearly got sent back home. Everything is all good now. Luckily I’m here now.”
Tsunoda explained that he was not sure why he was questioned for so long, given that he had the correct visa to enter the country. He did not have any issues with customs before the Miami Grand Prix in April or the United States Grand Prix in October.
The VCARB driver was taken to an interrogation room despite having the correct visa (Image: GETTY)
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“I had the visas and everything, been the same I guess the last three tracks right, I was able to enter smoothly previous tracks,” he added.
“It felt a bit strange I got stopped and had a proper discussion. Luckily it didn’t go more than two or three hours. But yeah, I felt it was going to be a long travel for me.”
The driver was taken to an interrogation room where he was not allowed to speak with members of his team or even representatives of Formula One.
“Obviously, when you have questions and go to customs, you go individually,” he said.
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“I went to the room, he put me in the room and we had a conversation like: ‘Can I bring the person that travel with? And maybe he can help a little bit to explain a bit more about myself and the situation in Formula One?’.
“But they didn’t allow me to bring that friend or even call anything. I wanted to call to the team or Formula One that can help me, but in that room you can’t do anything. I was wearing like a pyjama so maybe I didn’t look like a Formula One driver.
“I got a lot of pressure from them, but I was like, I couldn’t say anything. Otherwise, if I say something, I feel like I’m more in trouble.”
Luckily for Tsunoda, the matter was eventually resolved and he was granted permission to enter the country. He will be hoping to put the whole ordeal behind him before he gets behind the wheel on the streets of Las Vegas.