F1 pundit APOLOGISES to young driver for harsh words

F1 pundit Karun Chandhok admitted he underestimated a young driver's talent and offered an apology.

Last year, when Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo signed contract extensions with Visa Cash App RB, many people questioned the team's decision and favoured a driver pairing of Liam Lawson alongside Ricciardo.

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However, the young Japanese driver has 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 driver's 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.

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

Chandhok: 'He proved me wrong'

Tsunoda's strong showing in Japan and his strong performances early on in the season forced Chandhok to re-evaluate his initial judgements.

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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