Yuki Tsunoda took the blame for running wide and spinning in the Canadian GP, which thwarted his chances of a points finish. Speaking to the onsite media, the RB driver claimed struggling with the brakes during the final stages of the race.
With three laps left until the chequered flag, Yuki Tsunoda, who was running ninth, locked up and spun into the barriers. It resulted in him dropping down to fourteenth on the grid after driving the majority of the race in seventh place.
From lap 65, the Japanese driver faced pressure from his teammate Daniel Ricciardo who was running tenth behind. With the gap between both drivers being extremely close, the 22-year-old seemed to succumb to the pressure put by his teammate who was within his DRS window.
Having recently resigned from a contract for 2025 with RB, the fourteenth-place finish was a disappointing way for Yuki Tsunoda to celebrate his job signing. The team had managed to keep him out for 44 laps on intermediate tires, which helped him jump his teammate on the grid. However, towards the end, he started to struggle on his tires and slipped down to ninth after pitting to mediums.
Asked about the lockup, Yuki Tsunoda said:
“Yeah, it was my mistake. I had to lock up and that's it.”
Speaking on F1 TV he further explained:
“Yeah that was my fault cause I was struggling a lot with the brake quite early stages. But yeah my mistake.”
Asked about the points finish slipping away, he said:
“Such a stupid move but it is what it is.”
Asked about his strategy on intermediates that paid off, he said:
“Yeah, that was definitely a good decision and team did a good job for that.”
Yuki Tsunoda deemed the Canadian GP a difficult race despite the strategic advantage
Yuki Tsunoda felt that their strategy of completing 44 laps on the intermediate tires paid off but the conditions were tricky. He felt that despite bringing the car back intact across the finish line, the result was disappointing.
Explaining his strategy in the race, Yuki Tsunoda said:
“Yeah, the strategy went well. I was pretty disappointed how I ended up, obviously, it's not the way I should finish. It was the race that just brought the car back home, I was pretty disappointed how I ended up, obviously, it's not the way I should finish. So yeah pretty shame.”
Asked how difficult it was to manage the pace on old intermediates, he said:
“Because there were only a couple of guys that stayed out. It was pretty hard. Yeah, it was not easy, but until then I was pretty okay. I was feeling okay with that, with the inter (intermediate tires). And I think also the call we made but to change it to dry tires was also pretty good so yeah.”
Yuki Tsunoda has currently scored 19 points and is tenth in the drivers' championship. However, the Japanese driver did not have the best build-up through the practice sessions in Canada. The 22-year-old has managed to outqualify his teammate Ricciardo in six out of nine race weekends and outperform him in seven out of eight weekends.
Nevertheless, his points streak for the last three race weekends ended with the Canadian result. His day got worse when he was investigated for being late for the national anthem and his team was fined 10,000 Euros. Currently, RB are sixth in the team standings with a total of 28 points.
