Bahrain GP: Yuki Tsunoda Reveals ‘Emotional’ Significance of Passing Alonso

Yuki Tsunoda made his F1 debut in Bahrain. The Japanese driver passed Alonso on the 27th lap of the race. He stated that overtaking Alonso was an emotional moment for him.

The rookie driver scored his first F1 points when he finished 9th in the race, while Alonso didn’t see the checkered flag as he had a DNF. Even Tsunoda’s French teammate, Pierre Gasly couldn’t complete the race as he had a DNF.

Despite scoring some points in his first F1 race, the AlphaTauri driver says there is a lot to improve and hopes to better in the second round of the 2021 season when they race in Italy.

Yuki Tsunoda says passing Alonso was an emotional moment for him

In a post-race interview, the 20-year-old said.“It was a little bit emotional, “The last time I saw Alonso racing was 13 years ago I was watching at Fuji Speedway when he was driving for McLaren and Renault. I’m really proud.”

Tsunoda added, “I was really happy that I overtook him, of course it’s not the same car, but yeah, I was happy.” 

Being asked about how he felt scoring points in his first race, Tsunoda replied, “I’m happy but also disappointed especially with my first lap. I lost too many positions on the first lap and then after that it also took some time to recover those positions.”

“I’m happy to get a point for my first race and for the team. A positive thing was that I learnt a lot in this race, so I’ll just do better for Imola next time.” He concluded.

The Japanese driver had a better debut than the other rookies

Tsunoda is one of the three rookies on the grid this year, the other being the likes of Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin. Tsunoda managed to score two points in his first F1 outing. However, things didn’t get off to a great start for the Haas rookies.

The Russian driver had a crash at the start of the race, which put an end to his first race in F1, while Schumacher finished 16th. The second round in Italy gives the rookies there to redeem themselves.

Will Yuki score some more points in the upcoming race or will the Haas drivers manage to earn some points in their debut season in F1. What are your expectations from them in the second round of the 2021 season? Let us know in the comments below.

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