Yuki Tsunoda has outlined his main strength on the circuit in 2024, which has built the foundations for three consecutive points-scoring finishes.
The RB driver finished in eighth place at Monaco, resisting pressure from Alex Albon in the closing stages.
Tsunoda has yet to sign a contract for the 2025 season and said consistency is vital to remaining in Formula 1 for next season.
“Yeah, definitely,” Tsunoda responded. “It’s very important that we keep scoring points, and I think also the team allows me to bring the confidence straight away in FP1 and having a good pace already from maybe [practice] one.
“I think those kind of things will obviously help me to be confident and focused on what I have to do. I think just every race we are super consistent, that’s what we all want and we just keep pushing at what we’re doing.”
The Japanese driver’s eighth place last time out was his first points finish in Monaco, and he continues to show clear signs of improvement this year. He now has 19 points in the Drivers’ Championship.
Tsunoda is also getting the better of his more experienced teammate Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian is yet to score a point in a Grand Prix this season, with his five points coming from the Sprint in Miami.
The 24-year-old said managing the tyres was critical in Monaco, and he could only drive on the limit during the final three laps.
“Very long race. [We] had to kind of respect the strategy, what we planned. We didn’t want any single space that our competitors could use,” Tsunoda explained.
“We were managing the tyres and the pace. Last three laps we enjoyed it because I was told you could push flat out. Until then, it was kind of fine-tuning to make sure I wasn’t too greedy. And manage the tyres.”
The RB driver said that the team planned not to push to the limit to protect Tsunoda from the cars behind in case they got an opportunity to make a free stop with the necessary 22-second gap required to do so.
He conceded that it was tricky, although this approach allowed him to retain eighth place as he managed Alex Albon perfectly.
“I was managing quite a lot. I had to sometimes slow down quite a lot to make sure the cars behind,” he added.
“[Lance] Stroll, for example, don’t do any pit stops, or make sure if the Safety Car comes, no one will overcut or undercut us.
“I had to really manage the pace. That was frustrating, obviously, as a driver, when you know there’s pace to come. But happy to stick to what the team says.”
