“I want Max to win”– Yuki Tsunoda wanted Max Verstappen to win as Japanese race driver pulls sensational defence against seven-time world champion in Turkey

“I want to Max to win”– Yuki Tsunoda displayed an eight-lap long defence against Lewis Hamilton to assist Max Verstappen to win.

Lewis Hamilton had a brilliant start to the race despite being on P11. The Briton was climbing across the midfield with ease, but his biggest block was AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda.

The Japanese race driver held Hamilton for eight laps before yielding to his superior pace, but it undoubtedly helped Max Verstappen not to worry about his arch-rival for essential few minutes.

Mercedes was probably fastest in Turkey, and it took only 15 laps for Hamilton to reach till Sergio Perez, so if Tsunoda hadn’t been there, Hamilton would have more time to strategize against the Red Bull due.

Speaking on his influential contribution to Verstappen, who belongs to his sister team. The 21-year-old revealed he wanted Verstappen to win the race.

“I don’t care much to be honest. I want to Max to win, it’s the last year of Honda [with] Red Bull as well. I tried to hold Lewis as much as possible, I don’t know how many laps. I was trying to save more but I couldn’t,” said Tsunoda to RaceFans.

Battle with Lewis Hamilton was costly

Tsunoda further reveals that his battle with Hamilton left him with much damaged tyres, and it also affected his vision, which spoilt his race after losing positions in quick succession.

“I just used too much tyre early on battling with Hamilton,” he said. “After that it was really hard to keep up the pace. I just had a spin and tried to go faster.”

“Also the mirrors, I couldn’t see anything because of, I think, dust. I just couldn’t see, I thought there was a car right behind me so I just had to push and spun. The spin ruined my whole race, so it’s a shame. It was possible to score points today, so it’s just a shame.”

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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