Karun Chandhok APOLOGISES to RB star after harsh replacement calls

Ricciardo, Tsunoda, Lawson, social — Photo: © IMAGO

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Chandhok APOLOGISES to RB star after harsh replacement calls

Karun Chandhok admits he underestimated Yuki Tsunoda's talent and offers apology

Yara Elshebiny

Sunday 14 April 2024 15:57

Formula 1 pundit Karun Chandhok has admitted that he underestimated a young driver's talent and offered him an apology at the Australian Grand Prix.

Last year, when Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo signed contract extensions with the Faenza-based F1 team, many people questioned the outfit's decision, suggesting that it may have been time to offer Liam Lawson a full-time seat following some dazzling performances in 2023.

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However, young Japanese driver Tsunoda has since silenced his doubters with a string of impressive performances, consistently outperforming his more experienced team-mate Ricciardo in the early stages of this season.

Currently sitting in 11th place in the drivers' standings with seven points after four races, Tsunoda has already surpassed Ricciardo's entire 2023 tally. The Australian sits a lowly 17th with zero points to his name so far this season.

Tsunoda's strong start has included a seventh-place finish at the Australian GP, while in his home race at Suzuka, he salvaged RB's weekend with a crucial tenth-place finish after Ricciardo crashed out on the opening lap with Williams' Alexander Albon.

Both Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo's contracts expire in 2024

Tsunoda is the first Japanese driver to finish in the points at Suzuka since Kamui Kobayashi in 2012

Chandhok proved wrong by Tsunoda performances

Tsunoda's strong performances early on in the season have forced Chandhok to re-evaluate his initial judgements on the 23-year-old star, having been rather critical of RB's decision to keep Tsunoda for 2024.

The Visa Cash App RB driver may now be driving himself into contention for a seat alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull, if the world champions decide to move away from Sergio Perez.

When asked about what he learned from the Japanese race weekend on the Sky Sports F1 Podcast, Chandhok said: "I learned that my apology to Yuki Tsunoda over the Australian Grand Prix weekend was the right thing to do because I said last year that they should have signed Liam Lawson and Daniel Ricciardo, and have Yuki as a reserve.

"He proved me wrong because he was superb all the weekend."

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