Tsunoda reveals he requires "special pedal kit" with AlphaTauri

Sam Hall
Sunday 14 March 2021 12:51 - Updated: 13:18

Yuki Tsunoda has revealed AlphaTauri is working to develop a "special pedal kit" to better accommodate his slight frame in the cockpit of the AT02.

Just as Mark Webber had issues when entering the sport due to him being the tallest driver on the grid, the Japanese rookie is experiencing problems of his own as he is currently the shortest.

Red Bull lists Tsunoda's height as being a fraction over five feet tall [1.59m], six inches [18cm] shorter than team-mate Pierre Gasly.

Speaking before beginning his final outing of pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, he said: “For the pedals, I’m having a really special pedal kit.

"Compared to Pierre [there] is a lot of difference for height so that is why they are trying to make a really different way for the pedals and that is why we were having the issue yesterday.

“But I already heard from the mechanics we had a good step for making it strong.”

After completing just 37 laps on Friday due to a fuel system issue, Tsunoda managed a full race distance of 57 laps on Saturday, and with a comparable pace to Gasly.

But Tsunoda concedes that along with the pedal problem, his pre-season testing has not been the smoothest so far.

“The first day it was quite a big issue which was the fuel tank system and I had to stop the session," added Tsunoda. "We decided after 37 laps it was a day.

“Yesterday was also, not from the engine, but gearbox, pedals and also a little bit engine when I was doing push laps. So there was a couple of issues yesterday."