Tsunoda got "too excited" before Imola qualifying crash
Yuki Tsunoda has apologised to the AlphaTauri Formula 1 team following his crash in qualifying for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, saying he got “too excited”.
Following his impressive showing on debut in Bahrain three weeks ago, Tsunoda arrived at Imola hopeful of challenging for a second haul of points and a maiden Q3 appearance.
But the Japanese driver lost the rear of his AT02 car at the exit of the Variante Alta chicane, causing him to spin backwards into the wall.
It left his car with significant damage and brought out a red flag, as well as resigning Tsunoda to last place on the grid for tomorrow’s race without setting a time in qualifying.
Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri AT02 after his crashes
Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images
“I was just pushing too much at entry, to be honest,” Tsunoda explained.
“Until then the lap felt great, actually. I think that potentially it was easy to go through Q1 with one tyre.
“I was just too excited. For me, that was a silly mistake, so I feel really sorry for the team. You have to reset today, and just drive the race tomorrow.”
Tsunoda was able to walk away from the accident despite taking a sizeable hit, and said he didn’t feel in any pain, but was “more worried about the car than me.”
“It looked pretty bad actually, what I saw at the back [of the car],” Tsunoda said.
“I really hope the car is repaired properly tomorrow. Just feel sorry for the team today.”
Tsunoda caught attention in Bahrain with a number of aggressive overtakes, including passes on Fernando Alonso and a last-lap lunge on Lance Stroll to grab ninth place.
Although overtaking is likely to be more difficult around the tight Imola layout, Tsunoda was upbeat about his chances of fighting back up the order during the race, believing that rain could be due to shake things up.
“Tomorrow is going to be maybe different conditions, rain, to try to help me a bit,” Tsunoda said.
“So just really put it altogether and don’t do mistakes like today. I think it will be a bit of a different view.
“It’s going to be different conditions, so I just have to adapt to the conditions tomorrow, and push until the end.”
The clues Hamilton’s F1 contract afterthought gives to his future
F1 Emilia Romagna GP: Hamilton grabs pole from Perez, Verstappen
Sauber keen to "give the best to Alfa Romeo" amid Audi F1 links
Frederic Vasseur says that Sauber is focusing to “give the best to Alfa Romeo” through its Formula 1 partnership amid links to a possible takeover by Audi in the future.
Former F1 race director Masi to get Supercars Commission role
Former Formula 1 race director Michael Masi is set to become the new Chairman of the Supercars Commission in Australia.
Verstappen: No quick solution to extremely heavy F1 cars
Red Bull world champion Max Verstappen thinks there is no quick solution to tackle the burgeoning weight of Formula 1 cars, which has proven an unpopular aspect of the 2022 rules revolution.
Grading F1's 2022 drivers at half-term
Over the first 13 races of Formula 1's new ground effects era, Max Verstappen has surged into the lead in the world championship over Charles Leclerc. But as the 2022 season prepares to roar back into life, who stacks up as the top of the class, and who must do better? We graded every driver based on their performances so far
Grading F1's 2022 drivers at half-term
Over the first 13 races of Formula 1's new ground effects era, Max Verstappen has surged into the lead in the world championship over Charles Leclerc. But as the 2022 season prepares to roar back into life, who stacks up as the top of the class, and who must do better? We graded every driver based on their performances so far
The 10 stories to watch out for across the rest of the 2022 F1 season
It’s 13 down, nine to go as the Formula 1 teams pause for breath in the summer break. But what can we expect to happen over the next three months from Belgium to Abu Dhabi? Here's the key storylines to keep an eye out for the rest of the 2022 season
The inconvenient truth about F1’s ‘American driver’ dream
OPINION: The Formula 1 grid's wait for a new American driver looks set to continue into 2023 as the few remaining places up for grabs - most notably at McLaren - look set to go elsewhere. This is despite the Woking outfit giving tests to IndyCar aces recently, showing that the Stateside single-seater series still has some way to go to being seen as a viable feeder option for F1
How a bad car creates the ultimate engineering challenge
While creating a car that is woefully off the pace is a nightmare scenario for any team, it inadvertently generates the test any engineering department would relish: to turn it into a winner. As Mercedes takes on that challenge in Formula 1 this season, McLaren’s former head of vehicle engineering reveals how the team pulled of the feat in 2009 with Lewis Hamilton
The under-fire F1 driver fighting for his future
Personable, articulate and devoid of the usual racing driver airs and graces, Nicholas Latifi is the last Formula 1 driver you’d expect to receive death threats, but such was the toxic legacy of his part in last year’s explosive season finale. And now, as ALEX KALINAUCKAS explains, he faces a battle to keep his place on the F1 grid…
The strange tyre travails faced by F1’s past heroes
Modern grand prix drivers like to think the tyres they work with are unusually difficult and temperamental. But, says MAURICE HAMILTON, their predecessors faced many of the same challenges – and some even stranger…
The returning fan car revolution that could suit F1
Gordon Murray's Brabham BT46B 'fan car' was Formula 1 engineering at perhaps its most outlandish. Now fan technology has been successfully utilised on the McMurtry Speirling at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, could it be adopted by grand prix racing once again?
Hamilton's first experience of turning silver into gold
The seven-time Formula 1 world champion has been lumbered with a duff car before the 2022 Mercedes. Back in 2009, McLaren’s alchemists transformed the disastrous MP4-24 into a winning car with Lewis Hamilton at the wheel. And now it’s happening again at his current team, but can the rate of progress be matched this year?