Tsunoda explains his mistake in the opening part of qualifying
Having struggled for pace at the start of the weekend at Imola, Yuki Tsunoda suffered a heavy crash in qualifying which he noted was a “stupid mistake.”
Having struggled for pace on the opening day at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Max Verstappen looked much more comfortable from word go on qualifying day.
The Dutch driver delivered some strong laps in the final practice before having established himself as a contender for pole position. The four-time F1 champion ended up second after McLaren's Oscar Piastri managed to beat his time in the closing stages of the session.
His team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was struggling for pure pace all weekend long. The Japanese made a series of changes to the setup of his RB21 ahead of qualifying, but he could not show the results of it as he suffered a heavy crash in Q1.
Tsunoda seemingly took too much kerb, dipping a wheel on the grass and spinning off into the barriers. It was a heavy impact that flipped the car, and as such it was amazing to see Tsunoda walk away unharmed.
Reflecting on his qualifying day, the Japanese driver stated: “Thankfully, I am physically okay and feel fine. We made quite a lot of changes to the car from FP3 to Qualifying, I just overdid it and pushed too hard on the lap and took too much curb and lost the car.
“It is frustrating and unfortunately was a stupid mistake that has caused big work and effort for the mechanics. The car felt quick before and I know what went wrong and it's just an unfortunate situation to be in.
“Big apologies to the team, and we will look at the damage and hopefully the car will be good for tomorrow in the race,” Tsunoda concluded.
