Yuki Tsunoda admitted to befuddlement over his lack of tempo after System 1’s opening observe periods on the Spanish Grand Prix – revealing he “would not have any thought why I am gradual”.
The Purple Bull driver believed that, though his two Friday periods have been “clean” and with none apparent points, the final word tempo was too gradual and he was at a loss to clarify why.
Tsunoda was heard to critique the RB21 through group radio, noting that he was affected by sliding at each axles, and ended up six tenths slower than team-mate Max Verstappen amid the soft-tyre qualifying simulations.
Like Verstappen, he did lengthy runs on each medium and tender tyres – however was visibly off the four-time champion’s tempo throughout the laps. GPS knowledge suggests a big shortfall in carrying velocity by Flip 9 and Flip 10 versus Verstappen.
“It was tough,” was Tsunoda’s view of the periods. “To be trustworthy, when it comes to the primary day in comparison with every other grand prix, it felt fairly clean.
“I feel I made progress from FP1, FP2. However to be trustworthy, I simply have no thought why I’m gradual. The lap was fairly good as properly, contemplating FP2 and clearly it is not like totally 100%.
“However clearly it is not the hole that I am anticipating. So it is laborious to even inform what sort of precise limitation I’ve when it comes to steadiness, it is OK. We now have to see what we will enhance, however at the moment [I’m] struggling.
Yuki Tsunoda, Purple Bull Racing
Photograph by: Purple Bull Content material Pool
“Hopefully we will discover one thing, in any other case, it is actually powerful. It is not like I had a large mistake and I am behind and being in comparison with rivals; if I had a mistake and with out outcomes, I am pleased, truly, however it’s not like that.
“It will likely be an extended night time than common, in all probability, however clearly there is a curfew and all the things. I am going to strive my finest to discover a answer. At the moment, it is not very clear.”
From Verstappen’s standpoint, the Dutchman loved an “OK” Friday and famous that there was a tentative feeling of better positivity versus a few of Purple Bull’s FP1-FP2 run-ins to the weekend to date this yr.
He famous that he nonetheless wished extra out of the automotive to really feel actually comfy, as he was at Imola, however was in the end happy to not really feel “out of it” after the opening periods.
“The monitor is all the time very pleasing to drive. It is fairly sizzling on the market as properly, particularly for the tyres. However I feel it was an OK Friday,” Verstappen defined.
“We have had worse Fridays, however I felt a bit happier with the automotive. We’re nonetheless not, I feel, the place we need to be, however it was positively a bit extra optimistic.
“Each monitor is a bit totally different, however the feeling, I nonetheless need a greater feeling from the automotive. I’ve additionally had Fridays the place we have been utterly out of it. So, it is a bit extra, I might say, within the center.”
On this article
Jake Boxall-Legge
System 1
Yuki Tsunoda
Purple Bull Racing
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