Tsunoda: “I will push until the end to be P1”

Yuki Tsunoda says he will be channelling his inner Charles Leclerc in the season opener in Spielberg, with the Carlin rookie starting back in 12th.

Tsunoda was the surprise package of Free Practice, taking P1 in his first ever competitive F2 session, but he was left ruing a missed opportunity in Qualifying, when a late yellow flag spoiled his final push. He’s ruling nothing out though, citing Leclerc’s drive from last to first at Bahrain in 2018 as the ideal inspiration.

He explained: “I start P12, and I remember that Charles Leclerc went from the back to the top before in F2, so it is possible… Well, possible for him!

“There is that one percent chance there to be able to do it though, so I will push until the end to be P1 and drive as fast as I can to get at least a points’ position.”

Carlin enjoyed a decent season in 2019, finishing fourth in the teams’ championship, but have arrived in Spielberg as one of the quickest on the grid, having maximised the extended off-season.

Tsunoda may have seen his final push lap spoiled, but his teammate Jehan Daruvala suffered no such bad luck, and will start the Feature Race from sixth. For Tsunoda, this proves their potential.

“We had good preparation during lockdown,” he continued. “I learned a lot about Austria, and I think our preparations were really good. Also, I feel good in my driving as well.

“We talked a lot before the session on how to build up the pace and how to feel the tyres and how to feel the car. Free Practice was really, really good.”

Having claimed P1 in FP, Tsunoda looked set for an equally impressive Qualifying. Having sat first early into the session, he dropped back in the second half ahead of setting his final time.

A purple sector one in the final push gave him hope of a top five finish, before Nikita Mazepin spun on track, bringing out a yellow flag with no time remaining.

He concluded: “In Qualifying, I trusted my driving and my team, but there was the yellow flag at the end, and traffic as well, which was bad luck because the pace was there. Now, I am looking forward to the race.

“It has been quite a long time since Bahrain testing. We had done race sims in Bahrain though and we have to use that experience, for sure. Also, I don’t know what is going to happen in the race, but we have pace, so we just trust the pace and manage the tyres as best I can.”