A point-less weekend for Yuki Tsunoda! His third appearance for the Red Bull team ended in the opening round. The Japanese driver clashed with former teammate Pierre Gasly; not much later, both ended up in the wall. A disappointment for Tsunoda, who is still adjusting to the team and the treacherous Red Bull RB21. The 24-year-old driver draws hope from the upcoming private tests he is allowed to drive with the RB19.
“For me, it’s just a racing incident,” a disappointed Yuki Tsunoda reflected on the incident with Pierre Gasly. The Japanese driver was battling with his old AlphaTauri teammate, but was pushed onto his car by the traffic. Both spun around and found their Waterloo on the narrow Jeddah Corniche Circuit in the concrete wall. “I don’t think I could have done better, honestly,” Tsunoda responded afterwards to the media. “Of course, I did my best to avoid him as much as possible, but in such a situation it is also very difficult to avoid contact. I don’t know what I could have done differently.”
When asked if he and Gasly could have raced ‘friendlier’, Tsunoda explained that there had always been too little space: “I had the speed completely under control. It’s hard to justify what went wrong or what I could have done better.” For Tsunoda, it means another point-less weekend. Since he made the switch to Red Bull in the run-up to the GP of Japan, he has only scored two points thanks to a ninth place in Bahrain.
Private Testing
Tsunoda is aware of the increasing pressure as the gap with Max Verstappen becomes significantly larger. “Every lap is important to me at this moment,” he explained. “It’s only the third race, but it’s obviously disappointing that something like this happens at this stage.” Next week, he will gain more experience with the Red Bull team through special private tests at the Silverstone circuit. The team will provide the RB19 — officially the most successful Formula 1 car ever.
Tsunoda expects that such tests can help him. “Especially when we drive on circuits that resemble where we will be racing soon,” he elaborated. “So I’m looking forward to that. I hope to provide feedback from the RB19 — I hope to discover what made that car so successful and what it is that we apparently lack in the RB21. It will be fine,” he concluded optimistically. “The confidence is there, and I do see improvements. I’m still learning, and that just takes time. Driving too hard and trying to force something is pointless with this car. So far, I’m quite satisfied with my performance.”
