Yuki Tsunoda breathed a sigh of relief after the Dutch Grand Prix; for the first time since Imola in May, the Japanese driver scored points in Formula 1 again. After benefiting from multiple retirements, Tsunoda managed to secure ninth place. However, it was far from a smooth ride. Due to an engine issue, the Red Bull driver was, according to his own words, ‘slower than the safety car‘ in the final stages of the race.
After a disappointing qualification, Tsunoda took advantage of the retirements of Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, and Lewis Hamilton in Zandvoort. He finished in ninth place and secured two valuable championship points for his team. Yet, he seemed far from reassured afterwards. He revealed that he was struggling with a throttle response issue after the last safety car, which significantly reduced his speed.
Confidence for the Future
Red Bull team boss Laurent Mékies confirmed after the race weekend that Tsunoda’s RB21 was incorrectly set up. “After the last stop, the car was stuck in the wrong throttle response,” the Frenchman told the press in Zandvoort. “He had to finish the last part of the race with that.” Tsunoda confirmed that his car was driving much slower than he was used to. “Of course, I can’t reveal details,” the Japanese driver stated. “But yes, at one point the safety car was faster than my car. Fortunately, our team did a fantastic job minimizing the damage. In the end, the car performed much better.”
Tsunoda felt that, given the circumstances, he could not have finished higher than ninth place. “I mean, I’m not sure what I could do better than that,” he emphasized. “Today, everything seemed to be against me. The first safety car didn’t help at all, and the second one also came at the wrong time. The people I was fighting with ended up in P5 or P6,” he referred to Alexander Albon and Oliver Bearman. “Even in the last stint, I tried to gain a position, but I had too many problems. It was not easy to score points today,” Tsunoda concluded hopefully. “And honestly, a ninth place is normally nothing to brag about. But it does give me confidence for the future.”
