Yuki Tsunoda did not manage to excite his home fans on Saturday. In the run-up to the Japanese Grand Prix, the Red Bull rookie qualified in fifteenth place. Despite several good practice sessions, he failed to get the RB21 into Q3. To add insult to injury, his predecessor Liam Lawson clocked the fourteenth time in the Racing Bulls. A defeated Tsunoda regrets the missed opportunity, but at the same time, he is positive about his feeling in the car.
A visibly disappointed Yuki Tsunoda spoke to the press after qualifying in Suzuka. How he would have loved to compete for a starting position at the front. While Max Verstappen secured pole position with a magical lap, the Japanese driver will start from P15 on Sunday. “At least I feel good in the car, I have confidence,” Tsunoda sighed. “Unfortunately, I didn’t have much time for a good warm-up lap, so I went into my fast lap with relatively cold tires. As a result, I had a few ‘moments’ and was unable to set a fast time. That really cost me a place in Q3, as I definitely had the right pace.”
For Tsunoda, it was his first qualifying session with Red Bull. After the race weekend in Shanghai, he inherited the seat from Liam Lawson, who was demoted to the VCARB 02. “Compared to the Racing Bulls, the Red Bull is less forgiving – you have to drive on the edge, otherwise, you can never get the most out of the car,” Tsunoda explained. “A good setup and getting the tires to the right temperature is therefore quite critical. In that respect, things went well today, just not in that last lap. However, there is plenty of positives to take away – again, I feel good in the car, I have confidence, but unfortunately, I just couldn’t maximize.”
