Tsunoda almost had « a heart attack » when he was asked to return to the stand

Yuki Tsunoda finished the race in 10th place as standard, before ending up in 8th following the eliminations of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. The Japanese driver also posted the fastest lap in the race (with a lap in 1:38.100) in Austin, adding five points to his total for the championship this Sunday. To earn this bonus, the Japanese driver stopped during the penultimate lap of the race to fit soft tires. This pit stop was facilitated by the five-second penalty given to Alex Albon, who was 11th at that time in the Grand Prix.

« To be honest, I thought I was having a heart attack when I was asked to return to the pits », declared the AlphaTauri driver in the media interview square at the end of the Grand Prix. « At first, I thought it was an engine problem. After hearing that we were aiming for the fastest lap, I was relieved, but there was still a bit of pressure. Despite this, we managed to achieve the fastest lap, so it was good. »

Pit stops in the last laps are common among the bigger stables and when the battle for every point is important. This season, Max Verstappen has taken several free pit stops to try and get the best race times. However, it was a first experience for Yuki Tsunoda. « It’s probably my first experience in this field », admits the 23-year-old driver in the columns of Autosport.

« I really enjoyed it, obviously after a lot of tire management, directly in qualification mode, it was quite exciting, but at the same time, I appreciated the amount of grip I felt with little fuel, it’s incredible. I put all my energy into it, but the engine was not at 100%, as we could not fully charge the battery. It’s a physically demanding track, so it’s quite difficult, but you just have to refocus and be able to improve your time turn after turn. »

Important points

Thanks to this result, the Italian stable has doubled its number of points in the manufacturers’ standings. The Italian stable always occupies the last place, but it has climbed to within two points of Haas, which is 9th with 12 points in the championship. « One point makes a big difference », encouraged Tsunoda. « Well done to the team. There are still four races left to run, so we simply maximise our package and see how it goes. »

On the drivers’ rankings side, Tsunoda now has 8 points. The AlphaTauri driver thus moves from 18th to 16th place and overtakes Kevin Magnussen and Zhou Guanyu.