The trials of an F1 rookie: Yuki Tsunoda on his struggles at the start of the season Car News

What happened during qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix, where he yelled “I can’t believe this car” on the radio, failing to make it to Q3, then followed that up with a extraordinary complaint during a TV interview post-session suggesting his car might not be on par with his teammate’s?

Tsunoda usually doesn’t apologize for his agitation on the radio, but he is sorry for the situation. “What I said in Barcelona was unacceptable,” he admits. “It was a ridiculous radio. The only thing I wanted to say was a bad excuse. I feel a lot of regret. Sometimes I get really frustrated because I try to improve quickly and want the result.

Tsunoda’s radio chatter certainly surprised his team on their first test runs last year. There were concerns that he was not ready for F1 and that Honda’s desire to have his protégé in the car last season before leaving F1 led to a premature promotion. Those concerns were alleviated by progress in testing before the season aroused doubts.

However, as Tsunoda himself said, F1 is supposed to be tough. Most recruits go through some version of these struggles; it’s how effectively they learn from them that counts. And if Tsunoda can do it and reach the points of his performance peaks, he has the speed to make an impact.

His run from 17th place on his Bahrain debut to ninth place for two points in the championship was excellent, showing a combination of impressive pace and assists.

At Imola he was in the scoring race before he took off while daringly trying to pass Sir Lewis Hamilton, and in Spain he pulled off an excellent pass around Williams’ man George Russell before his run was interrupted by a problem with the engine. . Then, despite falling two places in the first round following a late restart, he finished in an honorable seventh place in Azerbaijan.

These moments show the driver that Tsunoda can be. Moreover, for him it is not simply a question of always being ultra-attacking and sometimes succeeding: he has sometimes shown real restraint, especially in the first laps, where he admits not having attacked enough.