RB driver Yuki Tsunoda has said that his overtakes in Formula 1’s Japanese Grand Prix en route to a points finish reminded him of his compatriot Kamui Kobayashi.
Tsunoda continued his stellar opening to the season when he advanced through to Q3 for the third time in four races at the expense of team-mate Daniel Ricciardo.
The Japanese driver endured a tough start, though, as he dropped behind both Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas and Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas, who were on the Soft compound.
“We struggled at the first start,” said Tsunoda. “We were wearing Medium and the two cars behind, Haas wearing Softs, so probably there was an advantage for Softs.
I two lost positions, I was [a] bit disappointed, but at the same time, I was able to regain that two positions at the restart, after I wore the Softs.
“So I think I did very well there, regained there at the start. After that the pace was good, I was just feeling comfortable.”
However, a slick pit stop from his RB crew and some stunning moves enabled Tsunoda to retain his starting spot and bag a “special” point at Suzuka for the first time.
“Even P10, I feel like – I mean, it’s too big a thing to say, but I feel like I scored P1,” he expressed.
“At the same time, big credit to the team that the team was able to have a very fast pit stop and [I was] able to rejoin the track in front of the Aston.
“Without that work, I wasn’t able to score points today. So big credit to the team.
“And obviously also the Japanese fans who support me all the week this week. The amount of energy I’ve got every lap from them was definitely a special feeling.”
Tsunoda was among a gaggle of cars that ventured into the pits on Lap 22, with RB’s swift service putting Logan Sargeant, Kevin Magnussen and Bottas in his wake.
The Faenza-based squad’s quick pit work also ensured that Tsunoda avoided the undercut threat from Aston Martin and Lance Stroll, who had been eliminated in Q1.
“Obviously I lost a bit of positions at the first pit stop,” he explained.
“But after that still the pace was good and in the end the team did like a super hero job, I feel like Supermen were doing my pit stops, that was crazy. I was very happy.”
Tsunoda still had to overcome several cars who were running extended stints to avoid being put back under pressure, which included his ex-team-mate Pierre Gasly.
However, he executed a bold move around the outside of the esses in the first sector, which he said “reminds me of when Kamui was doing overtaking outside Turn 11.”
“I knew that we’re not amazing in straight-line speed this week,” he added. “The only place that we were quite good compared to other competitors in the top midfield was the first sector.
“And I just had a pretty good confidence that I was able to overtake on the outside.”
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