Tsunoda delighted after having made a step forward at Imola

Despite his heavy shunt in Saturday’s qualifying session, Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda was left to praise the improvements he has made with the setup of his RB21.

Reigning champion Max Verstappen looked to struggle for pace on Friday, complaining about the race pace of his RB21. However, he displayed a stellar performance in qualifying to secure second spot on the grid.

The Dutchman then endured a slow getaway at the start, but made an eye-catching move into Turn 1, braking late and braving it around the outside of Oscar Piastri to take the lead on the first lap.

McLaren had been expected to have dominant race pace and tyre management on the hot surface of the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari. However, Verstappen managed his medium tyres during his opening stint, and he received some good fortunes with VSC which enabled him to bank a cheap pit stop.

When the Safety Car came out, he lost his enormous advantage, but he did not lose his focus and drove into the distance for his second Grand Prix win of the year.

Red Bull’s Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda suffered a massive crash in qualifying, which forced the Austro-British outfit to fit his RB21 with a fresh power unit alongside the necessary repair job.

Tsunoda started the Imola race from the pit lane, but he managed to climb up the order to finish in the points-scoring zone, adding a point to his tally.

Reflecting on his weekend at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Tsunoda stated that he was delighted with the progress he made with the adaptation to his RB21.

"A tough weekend. A massive effort by the mechanics to get my car ready after yesterday, and I am glad that I was able to give back to the Team and thank them for the work they did, even if it was just one point.

“It’s small, but at least it is something for the Team. I am still frustrated from yesterday, but I shook it off and I gave it my all today to be in the top 10 after starting in the pit lane. We’ve made a step this weekend and the Qualifying setup was a big change, but we didn’t change much setup from yesterday and it was good to have more time to learn and experience the car in the race.

“I tried to keep the McLaren behind for longer today but they had more grip with fresher tyres. The safety cars also created some interesting situations.

Speaking of his targets ahead of this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, Tsunoda stated that “he still has more to adapt to in the car, and my focus is now on Qualifying in Monaco and getting results in the next few races.

“And of course, a massive massive job and congrats to Max on the win and the whole Team on the result today,” the Japanese driver concluded.