Tsunoda is disappointed despite clean qualifying in Miami
Despite scoring points in the Miami F1 Sprint, Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda was left to rue his speed in qualifying as his clean Q3 lap was only enough to secure tenth place on the grid.
It was a day of extremes for Max Verstappen. The Dutchman was classified last in the Sprint race because of a penalty for an error that was not really his fault. However, he then went on to set the fastest time in qualifying, beating the McLaren of Lando Norris and the Mercedes of Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Verstappen, who has just become a father to baby Lilly, took his third pole of the season, with his best time of 1’26”204 having become a new outright lap record for the Miami International Autodrome circuit.
His team-mate Yuki Tsunoda started in the pit lane in the sprint race after making suspension changes overnight. He was the first driver to pit for slicks on the rapidly drying track, and this ambitious strategy allowed him to jump up the order and then was promoted to sixth following numerous penalties to grab some points.
In qualifying, the Japanese driver made the cut into the last segment, but he ended up only tenth on the grid, albeit it represented a better result after his poor sprint qualifying on Friday.
Reflecting on his action-packed day in Miami, Tsunoda stated: “I was expecting more from Qualifying, but the Sprint was a good recovery, so it’s mixed feelings for me today. The positive thing is I scored points in the Sprint and if I can go from the pitlane to P6 in the Sprint, then anything is possible.
"I gave it my all out there in qualifying, in previous qualis I have made some mistakes and I felt like this one was pretty clean, so I am a little disappointed it was only good enough for P10. The lap was alright but we definitely have a bit more to find, I don’t want to be in a bad mood and to keep overthinking it, it’s hard but we can’t think that straight away we will be top five.
The Japanese driver continued: "Gradually I am improving race by race, so I did want a bit more today, but we have to be patient. The pace in the long run in FP1 wasn’t great but we have adapted the set-up and the car is different now, so I can maximise better in the race when it counts and I feel confident in it.
"The rain mixed things up in the Sprint and we don’t know what is going to happen with the weather on Sunday yet. I made up 14 places today so tomorrow I only have nine cars to go! I want to score good points; I will stick to my positivity and do my best."
