Yuki Tsunoda had a difficult weekend at the F1 Monaco GP. The Red Bull driver got knocked out of Q2 during qualifying, while both VCARB drivers and teammate Max Verstappen made it to Q3.
Tsunoda started the race in P12 and attempted an aggressive strategy, pitting on the first lap. Unfortunately, the strategy did not play to his advantages, leaving Tsunoda P17 at the end of the race.
Tsunoda disappointed by qualifying performance
At the Monaco GP, qualifying can make or break one’s race. Tsunoda’s qualifying performance put him on the back foot for the race. The Red Bull driver stated that he was unable to utilize his tyres at peak track conditions in Q2, putting him in the drop zone.
“I mean, to be honest, the qualifying was really, really messy. I knew it won’t be straightforward in Monaco, but yeah, it was pretty messy with everything.
“Also, you know, I could have done probably better when the lap count in Q2. It was only one single lap, to be honest. I couldn’t really have a fresh tyre at the … best track condition. But yeah, very frustrating, you’ve got to be able to use that.”
Difficult race for Tsunoda
Tsunoda described the F1 Monaco GP as “the longest race ever.” Red Bull’s early pit stop strategy did not pay off, especially with how difficult overtaking has become around the track.
“We tried something, in that position we probably had to do something, especially two teams ahead, having two drivers. I knew they were going to play something again, so I put myself in that situation. I just had to do better.”
Tsunoda surprised by Gasly’s response to F1 Monaco GP incident
Tsunoda was involved in an incident with former teammate Pierre Gasly during the F1 Monaco GP. On Lap 9, Gasly ran into the back of Tsunoda at the Nouvelle Chicane. Gasly’s front wheel broke, but he made it back to the pitlane before retiring.
After the race, Gasly put the blame on Tsunoda, stating he had moved under braking. Tsunoda responded in shock to Gasly’s comments, stating he did not feel responsible for the incident.
“What?
“I don’t think I did anything wrong, to be honest. I will do the same if I have one more time, because I was hugging the walls the whole time. I knew he would try to overtake, and I don’t want to obviously move under the braking.
Tsunoda exclaimed that he was not sure how the crash occurred.
“It’s a bit mystery, I didn’t do anything silly, moving under the braking or whatever, so I don’t know what’s up with it, to be honest.
“I just remember, retrospectively, he [Gasly] crashed into me.”
Potential damage from incident with Gasly
Despite continuing the race, Tsunoda exclaimed that he may have sustained damage from his incident with Gasly. However, he stated that damage was not visible to him following the F1 Monaco GP.
“I’ll be surprised if I didn’t have anything, but maybe there’s a […] that made it a little bit unstable, or made it slightly offset in terms of the car balance. When I looked casually after the race, it looked okay, at least in component size, so that’s good news.”
