Yuki Tsunoda reflected on a “very strange” Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix qualifying session after enduring his seventh Q2 exit of the season for Red Bull.
Going into the summer break, the Japanese driver was in high spirits after being upgraded to a similar spec RB21 to that of team-mate Max Verstappen.
Naturally, coming into the race weekend at Zandvoort, the 25-year-old was expecting to build on the promising pace he showcased in Belgium and Hungary.
However, qualifying saw the Honda-backed driver miss out on a Q3 appearance as he lapped a sizeable half-a-second slower than Verstappen in 12th place.
“I was expecting more,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
Tsunoda was left perplexed with the pace deficit he had to Verstappen, especially since he felt he had extracted the maximum out of the package at his disposal.
“Honestly, the confidence I had in the car was pretty good,” he continued.
“I was able to control the car more than ever at any other Grand Prix. So to be honest, it doesn’t really stack up with the feeling I had in the car and the lap time I always thought.
“So it feels better than it did at the last few races, but the gap is bigger. Very strange. Honestly, I didn’t have any mistakes.”
Tsunoda takes positives from Dutch GP disappointment
While Tsunoda could not produce pace when it counted, he was still happy with the fact that he had finally been able to feel more comfortable strapped into the RB21.
Tsunoda reiterated that he did not feel he had left anything on the table – evidenced by his pace as compared to Verstappen during the final practice session earlier on.
“I was also working hard quite a lot to gain every single millisecond from every corner, and also how I progressed throughout the week or processed with the engineers,” he explained.
“I’m happy with it, but it didn’t show really much in the qualifying and the lap time.”
The last 10 rounds of the season will see Tsunoda on pretty much equal footing compared to four-time World Champion Verstappen in terms of machinery.
And he is hopeful to exploit this opportunity to make meaningful leaps forward in terms of his own performance.
“It’s positive [having the same package as Verstappen]. Yeah, it’s quite positive,” added Tsunoda.
“At least you know where I’m lacking and where I’m gaining.
“Yeah, I don’t know. Practice was pretty competitive with Max. I gained some corners, he gained some corners.
“I have to check the data, but it doesn’t really stack up with what I was having previously and the lap time I was having.”
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