There was a lot of curiosity about the first 2000 class to make his F1 debut on the eve of the season. Yuki Tsunoda has started to get talked about since the winter tests, where he set the second absolute time behind Max Verstappen. A performance ‘drugged’ by the use of the DRS even in unauthorized sections, which, however, was followed by a convincing ninth place in the race on the debut in F1. The previous day, Tsunoda had failed to enter Q3 trying to get through the cut in Q2 with the medium tire unlike boxing mate Pierre Gasly.
Precisely the fact that he had the French born in 1996 as a term of comparison could be misleading in judging Tsunoda’s season. Gasly is now an established top driver who has reached his fourth full season in F1. THE 78 points of departure in the drivers’ standings they represent a heavy passive for the Japanese, who certainly shone in the events in which he had already driven on the same track at the wheel of an F1. In fact, in the Abu Dhabi grand final, Tsunoda obtained a fourth place to crown a decidedly solid weekend, in which even a great lap in Q3 was canceled due to a matter of millimeters.
There was another circuit that Tsunoda knew by heart thanks to the fact that he had grinded kilometers behind the wheel of an F1 on that track. We are talking about Imola and the second stage of the season is emblematic for theother side of the coin of the Tsunoda season. In Emilia Romagna Tsunoda has in fact parked his car against the barriers at the Variante Alta in Q1. The Japanese’s accidents and spins were very frequent, as were the totally anonymous weekends marked by eliminations in Q1 while Gasly was subscribed to Q3.
In addition to the prestigious results obtained in the first and last act of the season, Tsunoda was able to finish seventh in Azerbaijan in Baku, sixth in Hungary and ninth in Austin, with two more top-10 finishes at Silverstone and at the Red Bull Ring (two tenth places. In total there were seven finishes in points, less than one race out of three. The Alpine preceded the AlphaTauri by only 13 points and it is easy to identify Tsunoda as the ‘culprit’. In 2022 F1 will change its face and Tsunoda will be able to ‘spend’ the experience accumulated with 18-inch tires in F2 in 2020. For now, the 2000 class has made headlines more for the hysterical radio teams than for the results obtained on the track . The talent, however, is there as evidenced by the recorded treble. Fortunately for him, Honda has offered him a ‘shield’ not indifferent to the anger of Helmut Marko and in 2022 Yuki will have the chance to earn a sufficiency for now only close to. Woe to underestimate it.
Yuki Tsunoda, 32 points. 14th place. Average: 1.45 points.
Rating: 5½ | Moody
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