AlphaTauri rookie Yuki Tsunoda has apologised to the squad in the wake of comments he made following his Q1 exit at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Tsunoda’s difficult run of form continued at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Saturday as he was eliminated from qualifying at the first hurdle.
Tsunoda vented his frustration on the cooldown lap by exclaiming he “can’t f***ing believe this car” and cut an exasperated figure in his interview with TV media in the pen.
The Japanese youngster subsequently issued an apology on his social media channels on Saturday evening.
“I am very fortunate to have a group of such talented and hardworking people working on my car and wanted to apologise to the team for my comments today,” he posted.
“I couldn’t maximise the potential of the car and was frustrated with myself. Tonight, I will analyse the data with my engineers and make sure to improve for tomorrow.”
In the team-issued press release after qualifying Tsunoda provided an insight into his frustrations.
“Pierre and I have very different feedback about the car, even when we have the same set-up,” he said.
“So I need to understand whether this is due to the characteristics of it or our different driving styles and then I can look closer at the data with my engineers.
“I think if I find this reason then I can really start to harness the full potential of the car.”
![Alpine Managing Director Steve Nielsen [pictured with Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore] is stern in his belief Mercedes has acted correctly](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Alpine-Steve-Nielsen-Flavio-Briatore-350x250.webp)
![Alpine Managing Director Steve Nielsen [pictured with Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore] is stern in his belief Mercedes has acted correctly](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Alpine-Steve-Nielsen-Flavio-Briatore-360x180.webp)
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