Yuki Tsunoda Reveals ‘Aiming Too High’ in F1 Since Brilliant Debut at Bahrain GP

It was undeniably a dream start to Yuki Tsunoda, the AlphaTauri driver’s career in F1, having secured his first championship points at the very first race in Bahrain. Despite missing out on Q3, the rookie showed no signs of panic as he drove a stellar race to bring his Honda-powered car home in P9.

But, what’s disappointing is that the Japanese driver has failed to capitalize on the brilliant start. Four Grand Prix weekends have gone by and Tsunoda is yet to add onto the two points that he initially secured at Bahrain.

So, what triggered the 21-year-old to struggle so much despite possessing such a highly competitive car in hand?

Well, Tsunoda revealed that he had been too opportunistic since his first F1 race, constantly keeping the expectations over the roof.

“To be honest, yes. I think, especially from Bahrain, I went really good even like I made mistakes in qualifying in Q2 and dropped out of Q2, but still got points in the first race.

So, I think, from there, especially I aimed quite high expectations in the future,” he told F1’s Beyond the Grid.

Was aiming for a dream lap: Yuki Tsunoda

During the podcast, Tsunoda also revealed that high expectations were the reason behind his qualifying incident at Imola, earlier in May.

The AlphaTauri driver lost his rear as he drove around the exit of the Variante Alta chicane and crashed into the wall, causing the carbon fiber debris to spill all over the circuit.

“The next race was Imola. I was aiming even like the top 5. So, I think I was aiming too high in qualifying, like an amazing lap, you know, dream lap.

“And especially in Q1, you don’t have to do that kind of stuff in Q1, but my adrenaline and motivation was like that. I went too smart and went into the wall. So, yeah, at the beginning of the year, I was aiming too high I think.”

The young Japanese lad has been facing the harsh reality of F1 since his first race. And it looks like he is yet to find that touch with AlphaTauri. So, can Tsunoda finally get himself in the top 10 over the upcoming race weekend at the streets of Baku? Only time will tell.