AlphaTauri’s “crazy” Upgrade
Yuki Tsunoda says his AlphaTauri team’s “crazy” upgrade schedule created the opportunity for him to lead his first laps in Formula 1 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Earlier in the season, the Faenza team was struggling for form and Tsunoda said that such a scenario couldn’t have been imagined. With the help of floor updates to the AT04, he managed to qualify sixth at the Yas Marina track and maintained his position in the early laps. As the frontrunners pitted, he rose up the order. When Charles Leclerc made his pit stop, Tsunoda took over the lead for five laps before making his own stop.
He became only the second Japanese driver to lead a Grand Prix after Takuma Sato led briefly at the Nurburgring in 2004. The subplot was that sixth place would have been enough to relieve Williams of P7 in the constructors’ world championship on team principal Franz Tost’s last day in charge. However, Tsunoda ultimately finished in eighth place, slipping behind the two-stopping Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso, which was not quite enough to deny the Grove outfit.
Formula 1 on Twitter: “Give it up for @yukitsunoda07! 🤩Your #F1DriverOfTheDay 💪#AbuDhabiGP @salesforce pic.twitter.com/dISUZvsUor / Twitter”
Give it up for @yukitsunoda07! 🤩Your #F1DriverOfTheDay 💪#AbuDhabiGP @salesforce pic.twitter.com/dISUZvsUor
When asked by Autosport about just missing out, he said, “I gave it everything. To be honest, I didn’t know I was leading the pack. So I’m quite surprised about it. And looking back, during the first half of the season, we never thought about it, that we’d be leading the pack.”
“So a massive privilege, and without the team effort, we couldn’t achieve this much. The amount they pushed this year, almost every race we had upgrades, was crazy. They deserve it.
“Also I wasn’t able to give probably the biggest gift to Franz, but at least hopefully, I gave it all. And I showed at least my performance as a kind of appreciation for him.”
Tires were an issue
During the early phases of the weekend, tire degradation was higher than expected, which led most drivers to opt for a two-stop plan. However, Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri was the notable exception.
Tsunoda admitted that it was a difficult decision, but they were listening to what the tires were saying. The tires held on quite well in the first stint, which was a key moment.
Regarding the strategy, he said that it was okay. Even if they had followed the same strategy as the top teams, he wasn’t sure if they would have been able to finish P6. Therefore, he had no regrets.
When asked if he had any regrets over the season, such as his messy race in Mexico City that cost vital points, he said that there were a couple of regrets, especially in Mexico. “But yeah, this is learning, what I did there was definitely my biggest mistake all season, and I have to learn from it.”
Formula 1 on Twitter: “Heartfelt thanks from Yuki #F1 #AbuDhabiGP @AlphaTauriF1 pic.twitter.com/OEdfdYQeCO / Twitter”
Heartfelt thanks from Yuki #F1 #AbuDhabiGP @AlphaTauriF1 pic.twitter.com/OEdfdYQeCO
Tsunoda emphasized that the team’s strong performance towards the end of the season is a positive sign for 2024 when the team will undergo rebranding and have a new boss, Laurent Mekies.
He explained that the approach they took in Abu Dhabi, with upgrades to the car, will be the philosophy moving forward into next year as well. Success with these upgrades will be a good indicator for their future success. He also noted that they have gained valuable data from these upgrades.
Tsunoda acknowledged that they still have a lot of work to do, but they plan to continue with their current strategy. He recognized that many things will need to change in the upcoming season and hopes that these changes will result in a significant improvement for the team.