Yuki Tsunoda said his stop at the F1 Abu Dhabi GP was as planned, but it was difficult because he was surprised to be in the lead.
After qualifying sixth for the F1 Abu Dhabi GP, there were fears within Williams that AlphaTauri could somehow close the gap by seven points and catch up to seventh place. Tsunoda also achieved a good result in the first stint and succeeded in leading the Grand Prix.
But that was due to his strategy. Tsunoda was actually surprised to take first place in the Grand Prix as he did not expect it and said this shows how much AlphaTauri has achieved this year, but Tsunoda was beaten by Franz Tost in 7 I was disappointed that I couldn’t give up my position.
Mr. Tsunoda told the media, “I did my best.” “Honestly, I was very surprised because I didn’t think I would be at the top. Looking back, at the beginning of the season, I never really thought about where we were. This is a huge step forward, and without teamwork we wouldn’t have been able to accomplish so much.
“The performance they pushed this year, there was an upgrade in almost every race, it was crazy and they deserved it. We couldn’t give Franz the best gift, but we tried our best. Therefore, my performance was recognized by him,” summed up Tsunoda.
His one-stop strategy was in line with the plan discussed by AlphaTauri, but he was unable to maintain his sixth place at the start of the race. He also needed to beat Lewis Hamilton on the final lap to secure eighth place and at least get close to Williams.
Although he was the only player to score points by making a single stop, Tsunoda says he could not have achieved a better result even if he had followed a different strategy. “It was as planned, but I knew it would be difficult,” he said. We listened to the tires and they held up very well during the first stint.
“That was helpful. I think it was a key moment. At the end of the day, I think what we did in terms of the strategy itself was fine. Even if we had exactly the same strategy as the top teams. , I don’t know if I can finish in 6th place or not, so I don’t think I have any regrets,” concluded Tsunoda.
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