F1 News
Tsunoda sees Canada '22 as turning point: 'That's when I understood the car'
Yuki Tsunoda is having a fine season, although that is not quite reflected in the number of points gained. The Alpa Tauri Japanese driver has so far only captured two points. In any case, he is almost always ahead of his teammate Nyck de Vries. In Canada at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Tsunoda may once again show why he is slowly starting to apply for a seat with a better team than Alpha Tauri.
A year ago, Tsunoda failed to finish in Montreal, but the speed was there that weekend. The Japanese driver is happy to be back in Canada and have another shot at getting into the points. In a press release from his team, he said: "The Canadian track is difficult and enjoyable to drive, and the atmosphere is amazing. It’s a street circuit, but feels more like an old-style permanent racetrack, a bit like Suzuka, where as soon as you step outside the white line, you end up on the grass."
Looking for the right set-up
Max Verstappen mentioned in his preview that finding the right set-up for his Red Bull at this particular circuit is not easy. Tsunoda agreed for his car: "It’s tricky in terms of setup as you need low drag and high downforce. In fact, I remember the Canada race last year was a bit of a turning point in my understanding of the car. I struggled a lot in free practice, but I was able to come back much stronger in the race. Together with the engineers, we were able to understand which direction to take, to make both the car and me faster."
What Tsunoda learnt 12 months ago has stuck with that set-up. "That balance setup we found in Montreal is still what we use now. The Sim last week confirmed that and I’m happy with the work we did in fine-tuning the setup. I hope it works out," said the Japanese driver.