“The first time in Imola” – Yuki Tsunoda recalls being scared in his first stint with a Formula 1 car before his rookie season with AlphaTauri.
It was the Imola circuit in AlphaTauri’s home Italy in November 2020 where Yuki Tsunoda got the first taste of an F1 car.
It was arranged by the team to ensure the Japanese fulfils the Super License points requirement before his rookie season in 2021.
And it was not a smooth ride at the start, reveals Tsunoda. He admits to being a bit hesitant and scared driving the AlphaTauri 2018.
“I think I was a bit scared.
“Because I think the first session I had was a bit of [a] wet condition [session]. It was not fully wet, but a bit wet. The first time in Imola, I was a bit scared.
“[I didn’t want to] to lose the session straight away after the first lap, so [I was] a bit scared.”
An average rookie season for Yuki Tsunoda
Tsunoda reveals getting used to the car after just three laps, and naturally being impressed with the beast he drove. But he did not have that great a season, accumulating just 32 points to finish in P14.
The Honda-backed driver has been retained for the upcoming season, with huge pressure to deliver with stars from F2 and other series ready in the F1 ladder.
“After three laps, I didn’t have [any feelings of being] scared.
“It’s more just enjoying the Formula 1 car, especially [because] I [was] really impressed [by] the braking performance and acceleration from the Formula 1 car, [which] is just incredible compared to even Formula 2.
“So yeah, I still really clearly remember the first day in Formula 1.”
