Yuki Tsunoda is convinced that he could have qualified higher than eighth place for Formula 1’s Canadian Grand Prix had a gust of wind not cost him on his final run.
RB announced on the eve of the session that it has activated an option to retain Tsunoda amid an impressive start to the term that’s seen him bag points in five races.
The Japanese racer was well-poised to celebrate the occasion with another headline-grabbing result as he advanced through Q1 in second and was then fourth in Q2.
But a moment on the exit of Turn 2 on his last lap in the top-10 shootout dented his prospects and saw him end up three spots behind RB team-mate Daniel Ricciardo.
With Tsunoda winding up four-tenths down on the pole position benchmark, the RB driver rued the snap preventing him from obtaining an even stronger starting berth.
“A lot on the table, I would say,” Tsunoda rued. “I got a bit of an unfortunate gust from behind at Turn Two, and I lost the car completely, so I lost a lap time there.
“Especially looking at Q1 and Q2, I was pretty consistent and I was in the top five.
“And actually considering my pretty bad lap, I mean I ended up in P8, so yeah, obviously there was a mixed feeling.
“But at the same time, I was not really in good condition in the three practices, so it was a good turnaround anyway.
“And the first time for the team to end up [in the] top ten with both cars, so still positives.”
However, Tsunoda was pleased that Ricciardo overcame his recent struggles to secure a top-five result as RB strives to extend its grasp on sixth in the championship.
“Yeah, I mean, Daniel was performing well since free practice one,” he added. “He’s experienced, so he knows how to deal with this kind of pressure.
“And yeah, I think well done to him going through Q3 and both cars now in the top 10.
“So in the end, now we can play around a lot of strategy for tomorrow. So I think it’s gonna be a fun day hopefully for us.
“And yeah, I mean, obviously he’s a fast driver, I’m learning a lot of things already from him. So yeah, so far we have a good relationship.”
