Tsunoda F1 test debut "compromised" by fuel system issue

Yuki Tsunoda was hit with a double-whammy that "compromised" his Formula 1 test debut.

On his first official outing with AlphaTauri, the Japanese driver managed just 37 laps in the AT02, although was ninth quickest of the 17 that took to the Bahrain International Circuit across the day.

Tsunoda finished with a lap half-a-second behind team-mate Pierre Gasly, and on the hard tyre compared to the Frenchman's best on the medium Pirelli.

The 20-year-old also faced the worst of the conditions due to a sandstorm that hit the track for the afternoon running that was also hampered by a fuel system problem.

Chief race engineer Jonathan Eddolls said: "The car performed very well in the morning, we completed our full run-plan and had no issues.

"We’re obviously quite restricted with running this test, having only three days, so we went through our test plan and covered some good ground.

"We then swapped to Yuki in the afternoon and unfortunately it wasn't such a smooth afternoon, for several reasons.

"Firstly, the sand both on-track and in the air, made it extremely difficult, so the track was quite a lot slower to begin with.

"Unfortunately, we then spotted some issues in the fuel system, which were impacting most of his laps and meant we couldn’t give him any consistent runs.

"The session was quite compromised for him, which is a shame, but we stopped running before the chequered flag, so we could investigate the problem and fix it ahead of his running first thing tomorrow."

Despite the problems, Tsunoda was happy enough overall, describing it as "great to experience the new car properly", although recognised he has ground to make up over the next two days.

Tsunoda added: "Obviously, at this stage mileage and data collection is key for me. As a rookie, I want to gain the most out of the only three days of testing available and learn a lot ahead of the first race here in Bahrain.

"It’s been quite a difficult afternoon session, unfortunately. The weather has been bad, with the sand and wind making the conditions tricky to drive in, and then the team discovered an issue with the fuel system in my car.

"This meant that I had to box ahead of the end of the session. They’re investigating it now though and I’ll be ready to head back out on track when the lights turn green for the morning session tomorrow.”

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