Last Sunday was one of frustration for Yuki Tsunoda as he fell short of scoring a point by just over a second. The Japanese driver had to settle for P11 behind Alex Albon.
It was a race where the 22-year-old got stuck behind both Williams cars at various stages of the Grand Prix. After Tsunoda undercut Sargeant in the first round of stops, he would go on to spend the rest of the race tracking Alex Albon as they would ultimately end up trying to get P10.
”So frustrating that I’m just stuck behind the Williams, so close to scoring points at the end,” Tsunoda said post-race.
”I think at the start it was kind of decisive, I lost a couple of positions in the first lap, but at the same time the pace was really hard to maintain kind of an OK pace.”
Tsunoda went on to explain that he could gain on Albon in the corners, but he had no chance to even attempt an overtake due to the rapid top speed of the Williams on the straight.
”Well, we were close, but the thing is the way I gained to him and he’s gaining to me is just the complete opposite,” Tsunoda explained. ”So I’m gaining at the corners, but he’s gaining much more in straight-line speed, so it makes me frustrated even more because every time I got close in the last corner, he just pulls away. Even with the DRS open, we were at the same speed.
”Currently we are just over 12 kph slower than Williams, so that’s quite a lot without the DRS. Too much drag, at the same time, we don’t have much grip to kind of regain that kind of drag. So, like I said, just need grip, either grip or less drag.
Heading into the season, AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost set a target for the team to finish P6 or better in the Constructors’ Championship. On the basis of their pace in Bahrain, that seems an unlikely outcome at present.
Tsunoda is desperate for upgrades as soon as possible so he can fight in the midfield on a regular basis.
”I think we are still far away from the pace the way we want it, I had to basically drive behind the cars, and there is sliding around and overheating the tyres, so we just need more grip in general,” the Japanese star stated.
”We started P14 and P19 in the race, so we just have to take it.
”Hopefully we can develop through the season but we just need more as soon as possible, kind of good updates [as] well, since we continue like this all year.”
”It is definitely frustration but [we will] just continue like this, we’ll understand the car more and we need good updates next time.”
Photo: Red Bull Content Pool
