Frustrated, Tsunoda expected "much more"

Sixth in Saturday's Sprint, Tsunoda expected a similar result in Sunday's Grand Prix. The result, in hindsight, could have been even better following the three disqualifications of Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc et Pierre Gasly. Nineteenth under the checkered flag, Yuki tsunoda is therefore officially ranked sixteenth. The Japanese could not hide his disappointment when the time came to speak in front of the microphones of the official F1 website. Handicapped by the same strategy as his teammate Isack Hadjar, namely two pit stops, the number 22 also suffered a broken front wing, for no visible reason.

“I’m very disappointed. I had a good start. Afterwards, the strategy is probably something we need to improve, but at the same time, I can understand what the thinking behind that choice was. What happened with the front wing is definitely more frustrating; it shouldn’t break like that; I didn’t hit any cars in front of me. Sometimes parts break; it’s a good learning curve to avoid these situations in the future. I expected a lot more, really.”

A "much better staff" but fewer points than Haas

For the one who is starting his fifth season in Formula 1, these big points lost in Australia and then in China must serve as a reminder to order. Tsunoda indeed finds it difficult to understand that Haas, a team that was completely out of the running in Melbourne, was able to perform so strongly in Shanghai. Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman finally take fifth and eighth places. With fourteen points, the American team currently has eleven more than Racing Bulls, while the Italian team is superior in every way to Haas, according to the Japanese driver.

“We have to focus. We know the car has good pace. Maybe we were relying on that a bit too much and maybe we missed something important before this race. Haas did a really good job, they struggled a lot before this race and suddenly they improved their pace. Well done to them, but we are frustrated because we know we have to do better, we have the tools and the people to do it. We have a much better staff and a much better car than them. Missing out on the big points in two races in a row is something we have to think about.”

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