RB F1 driver Yuki Tsunoda reflected on his performance on the final rac e of the season in Abu Dhabi and about Red Bull Racing potentially picking him for the second driver seat.
How Tsunoda’s race was lost at the start
The Japanese driver said that his car’s clutch got stuck, and that the anti-stall kicked in unprompted. Further saying that he suspected something wrong coming into his first and only pit stop.
“[I am] 99% sure that the clutch got stuck. In my last four years, any single race in my career, I never had anti-stall. I didn’t do anything wrong with the procedure.
“It became pretty clear that when I came into the pit lane and when I pulled the clutch, the gear didn’t go to neutral smoothly. Something definitely going on there.
“It was still a tough race with one stop. I recovered pretty good, I feel like. Yeah, still something to definitely review afterwards for the race.
“Maybe it could have been better throughout the week, but we gave it our everything.”
Tsunoda’s Red Bull post-season endeavour
The 24-year-old is one of the selections by Red Bull to carry on their post-season test at Abu Dhabi this year, which the Japanese was definitely looking forward to.
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it. First time I’m driving a different car as a Formula 1 carrier. Obviously, it’s still in a similar pool, but the car will be much different. I’m excited and I’ll enjoy it.
“At the same time, I’m fully focused. Obviously, something after this disappointing race happened. It’s good that it’s something I can look forward to.
“Hopefully, I can give some feedback that they can benefit from something for the future. I’m fully focused on that.“
“I hope so,” when asked about Red Bull giving him the opportunity to show his true performance and prove that he’s worthy of the top seat.
“I haven’t received any run plan yet. To be honest, I want to do what they ask me to do. I want to do everything they ask with 100% performance.
“Even though I didn’t get a performance run or whatever, I can do other things that maybe I can impress them. I still have a pretty good confidence with everything.”
Absence from Red Bull seat talks
In the increasing talks for the future of Red Bull Racing and who could get the second seat after Sergio Pérez’s likely exit from the team, Tsunoda’s name has been weirdly absent. Even if he has been consistently outperforming his teammates.
The RB driver, alluding to concerns about being snubbed for the contested second Red Bull seat, says that this season has been a statement drive for him. He states that his consistency has been the hallmark for RB in every race.
“I mean, as I always say, throughout the season, I made a pretty good statement throughout the season. I started first in Bahrain. Everyone didn’t expect it.
“They expected Daniel to be in the red booth, and he’s not. What’s next?”
Though he’s confident that he can give it all to prove that he has what it takes to be in the top flight of F1.
“Still, I’m able to improve. Obviously, some races I could have done better, but at the same time, I made a consistency in terms of how I was able to extract performance from the car every race, compared to my teammates.
“Obviously, some tests will be for sure. Maybe the details I can give extra on top of what they’re thinking, but it’s up to them in the end what they’re going to decide. It’s pretty clear what I’ve done this year.“
