17/07/2021
NEWS STORY
Failing to make it into Q2 for the fifth time this season, Yuki Tsunoda lays the blame at a late call to the weighbridge and traffic.
Ahead of his all-important final run in the opening phase of the session, the AlphaTauri driver was randomly called to the weighbridge, losing around a minute in the process.
Having completed one push lap, with the clock ticking he had to hurry his subsequent cool-down lap if he was to get in another, only to subsequently find himself behind the Ferrari duo and Daniel Ricciardo as they prepared for their final flyer.
"The weighbridge f****d everything, and last corner traffic," he told reporters. "The end was really tight and I couldn't do much of a proper cooldown lap.
"Also the last corners, a lot of cars were waiting," he added, "I lost already three-tenths in the main straight. I almost regained the three-tenths through the lap but the loss I already had in sector one, the main straight was too much. And also I couldn't do a proper cool-down lap. It's just a shame.
"Going into qualifying after just one session was always going to be difficult," he admitted. "After FP1 I'd started to get used to the circuit, but I had a lot of traffic and never managed to put together a perfect lap.
"The second lap time, even if it was not a perfect lap due to the traffic, I started to get used to it, the driving. I started to feel confidence. It feels like I can start now.
"Starting from P16 I think will be difficult, but I'll give it everything I've got during sprint qualifying and we'll see what I can do."
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