F1 | Tsunoda: “10th thanks to the team, like Superman in the pit stops!”

After two races finishing outside the top ten, in Australia and Japan Racing Bulls managed to reach the points zone on two occasions, taking seventh and tenth place with a great impact on the constructors' championship. Although it is only the beginning of the championship, in fact, based on what we have seen in the first four stages of this world championship, it will not be easy for the midfield teams to consistently score points, which is why every opportunity could be crucial.

In Suzuka the Racing Bulls were looking for confirmation, well aware that there would potentially be some teams that would suffer from the fast corners of the Japanese track, especially in qualifying. The tenth and eleventh position in qualifying, also putting Lance Stroll's Aston Martin behind him, potentially faster from a race perspective, was an excellent starting point, even if, however, Daniel Ricciardo was unwillingly involved in a contact at the start, leaving the task of bringing home points for the team on the shoulders of Yuki Tsunoda alone.

Starting on the medium, however, the Japanese had also lost two positions in the first start, the one before the interruption due to the red flag, slipping behind Nico Hulkenberg and Valtteri Bottas, who had instead started on the soft, with a significant advantage in terms of grip generated. However, the situation was reversed at the second start, in which Tsunoda was able to climb up to ninth place, this time starting with the softer compound.

“We struggled at the first start. We had the mediums and the two cars behind, Haas and Sauber had the softs, so there was probably an advantage for them. I lost two positions, I was a bit disappointed, but at the same time I managed to regain those two positions at the restart, after putting on the softs. So I think I did very well, recovering the position at the start”, explained the Racing Bulls driver.

However, with the fact that behind him other drivers decided to bring forward the first stop, Tsunoda suffered the undercut by Bottas, but also found himself behind Sargeant and Magnussen, who on the contrary had started on average respectively and on the hard with the intention of extending the first part of the race. Ultimately, therefore, Tsunoda found himself fourth in a small group of five riders who would then stop in the same time window.

“Obviously I lost a few positions at the first pit stop. But then the pace was still good and in the end the team did a super hero job, it felt like Superman was there making my pit stops, it was crazy. I was very happy,” added the Japanese.

At the end of the twenty-second lap, in fact, Magnussen, Bottas, Sargeant, Tsunoda and Stroll all returned at the same time in sequence, leaving the challenge to the mechanics engaged in the pit stops. As fourth in this group, Tsunoda then rejoined the lead, ahead of his rivals, thus saving several seconds on the race time, given that the overtaking he should have completed on the track were all gained during the stop. While it wasn't an exceptional stop, as it was completed in 2.76s, the 22nd fastest pit stop of the race, this was still enough to beat rival teams, particularly Sauber, who recently had to make you have specific problems when changing tires.

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team VCARB 01

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

“Great job guys, well done! Thanks,” Tsunoda said over the radio as he left the pits, thanking the work of the Racing Bulls mechanics. This overtaking in the pits was very significant, because it also allowed us not to remain in traffic, thus managing to gain those fundamental seconds at the end to contain Nico Hulkenberg's comeback. After stalling at the start, a problem that Haas will certainly have to control given that it had already occurred in Bahrain, the German had followed an alternative strategy and in the final laps, after the last pit stop, he began his comeback, quickly moving up the rankings.

Tsunoda, in the meantime, had however managed to gain an important advantage, not very large, but still enough to contain Hulkenberg's comeback, especially considering that the Haas driver arrived just over 5 seconds away from the points zone. If the Racing Bulls mechanics had not made the difference at the pit stop by allowing Tsunoda to come out ahead of the group, those five seconds would probably have been lost during the overtaking phase, facilitating the German's return.

“Is fantastic. After such a long two years that I managed to score in the points in Japan, it was a great feeling and yes, I thank the team for doing a fantastic job during the pit stop and for managing to stay ahead of the Aston. Without this I wouldn't have been able to hit the points. So great credit to the team and also, obviously, to the Japanese fans.”

“I feel more and more support every year and I just have to continue to meet their expectations and hopefully I can fight against the top five teams on the grid. But now as a team we are finally building a solid foundation to take a step forward in the future. And we are quite confident that we can score some points. I think we have already had a good start, finishing in the top ten in two races in a row,” added Tsunoda.