Tsunoda reveals reason for disappointing first qualifying with Red Bull
Having failed to escape Q2 at Suzuka in P15 spot, Yuki Tsunoda was outqualified by Liam Lawson, albeit the Japanese driver sounded a positive note when assessing his feelings inside the cockpit of the RB21.
Having joined Red Bull for this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, Yuki Tsunoda looked quick in practice and in Q1, but a dismal last push lap in Q2 saw him end up only 15th quickest.
The Japanese driver looked comfortable in the RB21 across the practice sessions, and he was close to his four-time F1 champion team-mate Max Verstappen in Q1.
However, things got a negative spiral in the middle part of qualifying. The Japanese completed his first flying lap on a used set of softs which was not enough for a place in Q3. On his second push lap on a fresh set of red-walled tyres, Tsunoda had an oversteery moment at the exit of Turn 2.
In fact, he exited the last corner on his out-lap with a sideways moments which suggested that he did not get his rear tyres up to temperatures for his hot lap.
“There’s some frustration today," started Tsunpda. "I think the warmup didn’t go as I wanted for that final lap and it was pretty messy, especially in the first sector. We are still learning, and I thought the warmup was ok and we would maybe be a little compromised, but the penalty was pretty big. I thought we would be able to build from Q1 but that wasn’t the case.
"At least my confidence in the car feels good now, I just wasn’t able to put it together today and that is a shame. I think the positive is I have started to understand the car well. FP1 and FP3 felt good and I started well today, it was just that final lap, the car is quite sensitive on its tyres, and I started to feel that in Q2, the pace was there to get to Q3 and I need to be able to maximise it.
Despite his setback, Tsunoda is pinning his hopes on a possible rain shower that could turn things around at the Japanese Grand Prix.
"My mindset all weekend has been to just enjoy the situation, the car, the Team, being at Suzuka, and I felt more calm than usual but at the same time I felt responsible to perform. It’s my home grand prix, so I will stay focussed tomorrow and try my best, a bit of rain could help us move through the field."
Commenting on Tsunoda's first qualifying session with Red Bull, team boss Christian Horner said: It was unfortunate for Yuki who just lost a couple of tenths in the first sector that cost him a chance of Q3. He’s settled in well and has been right there all weekend until that moment. He will race well from there tomorrow."
