Five laps led and “Driver of the Day”: Tsunoda shines in Abu Dhabi

Yuki tsunoda was the “Driver of the Day” on Sunday at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and he didn’t steal it! The Japanese equaled his best performance of the season during the last round of the year, at the Yas Marina circuit. Eighth at the finish, the pilot Alpha Tauri even led his first laps in Formula 1 – five to be precise – a first for a Japanese since Takuma Sato at the European Grand Prix in 2004.

“To be honest, I didn't know I was leading the race, so I was quite surprised! », confided Yuki Tsunoda after the race. The young 23-year-old driver highlights AlphaTauri's progress at the end of the season and affirms that he never thought he would lead a Grand Prix in 2023 after the Italian team's disastrous start to the season. “Looking back, at the start of the season, we never thought about the possibility of being at the front of the pack. So this is a massive improvement and without the team's efforts we wouldn't have been able to accomplish all of this. They pushed this year, almost every race we had improvements, it was crazy and they deserved it. »

Tsunoda: " I I couldn't give Franz the best gift."

To go all out in this Grand Prix which is so important for the championship, Yuki Tsunoda stayed longer on the track on medium tires and chose a one-stop strategy. A strategy that paid off since the Japanese managed to hold their own against cars that were supposed to be faster, particularly against Lewis Hamilton.

Despite his result, Yuki Tsunoda did not allow AlphaTauri to steal 7th place in the Manufacturers' Championship at Williams, who fails three small points behind the Grove stable. A small disappointment for the last of Franz Tost at the head of the Italian team. “I couldn't give Franz the greatest gift, but I gave everything, declared the Japanese pilot. My performance was therefore recognition for him. (…) Even if I applied exactly the same strategy as the best teams, I don't know if we could finish P6 anyway. So I think we have no regrets. »

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