F1 pundit APOLOGISES to young driver for harsh words

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F1 pundit APOLOGISES to young driver for harsh words

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

Yara Elshebiny

Monday 15 April 2024 00:00

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.

Both Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo will see their contracts expire at the end of the 2024 season

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

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."

Mercedes Daniel Ricciardo Yuki Tsunoda Liam Lawson Visa Cash App RB Karun Chandhok