
via Reuters
Formula One F1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – December 11, 2020 AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda arrives at the Yas Marina Circuit Hamad I Mohammed/Pool via REUTERS

via Reuters
Formula One F1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – December 11, 2020 AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda arrives at the Yas Marina Circuit Hamad I Mohammed/Pool via REUTERS
Yuki Tsunoda was highly impressive through his testing session yesterday. The Japanese driver got into a scintillating battle with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. He also put in some stunning flying laps towards the end of the session.
In the end, Verstappen finished at the top on his C4 tyres. Meanwhile, Tsunoda, on the softest C5 tire, was off by mere 0.093s. However, there was a cheeky trick that Tsunoda used to clock in such impressive lap times.
The Japanese driver consistently used the DRS system before the activation zone. Tsunoda opened it as soon as possible after exiting the final corner. The rear wing opens up before he crosses the DRS activation zone line. Meanwhile, Lando Norris called the young Japanese out for this move on Instagram.
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Know More – Who is Yuki Tsunoda, the Japanese Driver Who Could Be in F1 Next Year?
Tsunoda ended the session second fastest on the timesheets. His teammate Pierre Gasly, on the other hand, finished 12th fastest during his morning session. The Frenchman believes the AlphaTauri is a lot better than last year.
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Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly showing positive signs for AlphaTauri
Yuki Tsunoda finished second on the timesheets on Sunday afternoon, and Pierre Gasly finished second on Saturday. Although the Japanese driver was seen making the most of DRS, the Frenchman explained how their 2021 campaign seems very positive.
“I must say it’s been another really positive day for us. A lot of laps done in the afternoon, managed to do all the high fuel running we wanted, try different things on the car, and a bit more like performance run in the end with soft compounds.
“In those conditions I felt very good in the car, a lot better than last year at the same time, so it’s pretty positive,” said the Frenchman after his session on Saturday.
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via Reuters
Formula One F1 – Bahrain Grand Prix – Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain – AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly Pool via REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
Part of AlphaTauri’s positive pace and reliability has come from their engine suppliers, Honda. Gasly was pleasantly surprised and lauded for all the work done by Hondas’ team back at the factory.
It was a successful couple of days for AlphaTauri and an incredible last day for Yuki Tsunoda to wrap up the pre-season testing.
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Do you think the Japanese driver will show such skills during the season as well? Will he claim his debut podium? Will he win the Rookie of the Year title?
Let us know in the comments!
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