Frustrated Tsunoda says second red flag in Aussie GP 'mega sucked'

Yuki Tsunoda cast a frustrated figure at the end of last weekend's Australian Grand Prix, the AlphaTauri charger ruing race control's decision to red flag the race's second restart while he was running fifth.

Tsunoda had spent the first half of the race among the field's top-ten but eventually drifted down to P14 thereafter as he struggled to keep his hard compound tyres in the optimum window.

However, the race's second red flag of the day - brought about by Kevin Magnussen's brush with the wall and scattered debris - led to another standing start during which Tsunoda passed several rivals.

Steering clear of the Turn 1 chaos, the young Japanese charger emerged fifth in the running order as the field collected itself after the demise of both Alpine drivers, Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon.

©AlphaTauri

Alas, Tsunoda's position near the top of the midfield was short-lived due to the decision to halt proceedings once again and roll back the final restart behind the safety car to the previous grid order.

From 11th on the road, Tsunoda was prompted to P10 thanks to a 5-second penalty handed to Ferrari's Carlos Sainz. But the 22-year-old felt foiled by the outcome.

"I mean, without the red flag I score points in P5," he said after the race.

"These things happened behind myself after I passed Pierre [Gasly], so even without the incident I was having a P5.

"So it mega sucked after the red flag, a mega shame; I’ve been frustrated to end up P10."

• Read also: F1i's Driver Ratings for the 2023 Australian GP

However, after considering the big picture and especially the struggle he had endured almost all afternoon on the hard tyre, Tsunoda ultimately felt relieved to score his first point of the season.

"Still, the first score, first time in the points this season so we should take that, especially considering where we started," he said.

"Considering how much we were struggling before the red flag, with warming up and getting the hard compound tyres in the optimum window, we should take this result and be happy with P10 as we maximised our performance."

"W will continue to work hard to score more in the coming races."

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