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For the second time this season, Yuki Tsunoda has qualified in tenth place for the starting grid of a Grand Prix, which, according to the Japanese driver himself, isn't a position he would like to be in. Speaking after the qualifying, Tsunoda discussed how his short time during the sprint qualifying session earlier this weekend wasn't enough for him to get in the practice he needed for a better result. The driver also spoke about having to guess the setup required for the qualifying period, because the rain during the Sprint race wasn't a fair indicator of what would be required.
However, the Red Bull driver was also happy that he made it into Q3, marking his third GP weekend in a row that he's qualified in the Top 10. He said [via GPBlog]:
“It's positive that I went through Q3, although I almost didn't do any proper laps during the sprint qualifying, so it was kind of clouded what kind of balance that we have exactly.
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“We almost had to guess the setup because it rained during the sprint race. So, given that, I was happy to make it to Q3, but P10 is obviously not the place I wish for.”
After putting in a lap time of 1:27.298s and 1:26.959s, the 24-year-old made it into Q3, where he put in a time of 1:26.943s, which will see him start in the middle of the pack for today's race.
On Friday's Sprint Qualifying session, Yuki Tsunoda put in a best lap time of 1:29.246s at the end of five laps, putting him in 18th place for Saturday's sprint race. But, after his RB21's suspension setup was changed under parc ferme conditions, the Japanese driver started the race from the pit lane in P20.
During the sprint itself, Tsunoda became the first driver to switch from the intermediate tires to a set of used mediums and was able to climb up through the course of the event, eventually finishing out of the points. But thanks to Alex Albon, Liam Lawson and Oliver Bearman suffering penalties, Yuki Tsunoda finished the sprint race in P7, giving him three points to take home.
Yuki Tsunoda is looking forward to RB21 upgrade in future races
While Yuki Tsunoda is P10 for today's race, his teammate Max Verstappen put in a lap time of 1:26.204s to put him in pole position for the Miami GP. One of the possible reasons that Verstappen has been able to put himself at the top of the field is the new floor upgrade Red Bull has brought to Florida this weekend, an upgrade that Tsunoda hasn't received yet, one which he's looking forward to, while admitting that he doesn't know how much of a difference it will make. Tsunoda said [via GPBlog]:
"I guess so, but I don't know how much it will help. He got pole, so I'm sure the car is not going backwards, but I'm not sure how much he gained. Hopefully, I can have that at some point in the next few races."
The finale of the Miami Grand Prix will start at 4:00 pm local time.
