F1 drivers love to arrive at the paddock in style and Yuki Tsunoda is no different. The Japanese driver turned up to the Miami GP paddock, dressed at his best but what caught the attention was the suitcase he was carrying. As it turns out, it was just V-CARB’s marketing gimmick.
On his YouTube channel, Kym Illman posted a video talking about the events of the Miami GP weekend on Saturday. Something he found particularly funny was Tsunoda‘s briefcase, which according to Illman was empty.
“It’s a publicity stunt. Look, it works because you and I are talking about it. But it looks so funny because there is nothing in that roller bag, it’s completely empty with a sign on it.”
Illman’s video reveals that the sign is nothing but V-CARB‘s branding, but to get a close shot at it, one needs to take a look at its rear. According to the reputed journalist, this wasn’t the first time a V-CARB driver took part in this exercise.
Last season, when Nyck de Vries was a part of the Faenza-based outfit (then known as AlphaTauri), he too turned up to one of the races with an empty branded roller bag.
For Tsunoda and Co., it may have been a good sign. V-CARB secured its first double points of the season in the Sprint Race on Saturday. Although replicating the same will be difficult in the Grand Prix, the team won’t back down without a fight.
Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo’s Miami GP so far
Tsunoda’s teammate Daniel Ricciardo approached the Miami GP weekend under a lot of pressure. Failing to score points in the first five races of the campaign, Ricciardo knew he had to make a statement to prove his worth in the team.
In Sprint qualifying, he did just that. He qualified in P4, 11 places ahead of Tsunoda.
Ricciardo even finished his race in fourth, holding off Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in the process. Tsunoda made up seven places in the Sprint race to join Ricciardo in the points, capping a good performance for the team overall.
Qualifying was not as smooth for Ricciardo, however. He had a three-place grid penalty waiting to be served (from China), and with his P18 finish, he will start the Miami GP from the back of the grid on Sunday. In this part of Qualifying, Tsunoda fared better, making his way to Q3 and making sure he starts from P10.
