Yuki Tsunoda reveals shock at contract extension - "I keep crashing"

Yuki Tsunoda stapt uit zijn bolide na zijn crash in Q1 op Imola. — Photo: © LAT Images

Italian Grand Prix

Tsunoda reveals shock at contract extension - "I keep crashing"

Tsunoda was "surprised" to be given a second year at AlphaTauri

Ian Parkes & Ewan Gale

Thursday 9 September 2021 18:34

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Yuki Tsunoda has revealed his "surprise" at being retained by AlphaTauri for 2022 due to the fact he keeps "crashing" and has cost the team "lots of money".

The Red Bull junior has suffered from inconsistency throughout his rookie campaign, despite making a bright start at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The Japanese driver has since crashed on multiple occasions, notably during qualifying at Imola, Baku and Paul Ricard.

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Speaking before confirmation he would stay with AlphaTauri for next season, Tsunoda rated his chances of retention at 50-50.

Cheekily, he has now revealed: "To be honest, when I got asked, I knew already but I couldn't say anything about next year's contract.

"I am really excited, of course. The first half of the season was quite inconsistent. From my side, I was very surprised I'm staying next year.

"First of all, thanks for the team. I am really excited for this opportunity again for next year. For this year, I will learn as much as possible and we will have fun in 2022."

Asked why he was surprised, he replied: "Because I keep crashing. It has been lots of money for the whole team."

Marko instructs Tsunoda to have "more discipline"

Red Bull has a well documented high turnover of young drivers in F1, perhaps leading to Tsunoda's surprise at being offered a second year at AlphaTauri.

The rookie revealed he has been given some instruction from team principal Franz Tost and Red Bull motorsports advisor Dr Helmut Marko to rein in his discipline behind the wheel.

"It is not a good way to end the first half of the season, especially in Hungary when I went into the wall in FP1 and ruined the whole session," added Tsunoda.

"I got asked from Franz or Helmut that I need more consistent driving and also more discipline in the sessions.

"It was mixed feelings. Sometimes it went really well, sometimes it [didn't] go well, that's why it was a bit of a surprise."