Yuki Tsunoda was left impressed by Honda engine gains and the "big grip" from Pirelli's C5 tyre after pre-season testing in Bahrain.
The AlphaTauri rookie looked more than ready for his first Formula 1 season as completed 185 laps across the three days despite some small reliability issues.
His final outing on Sunday though was particularly impressive, as he finished second following a series of qualifying runs, running pretty close to the likely limit of the car.
“Today was a really, really good day,” said Tsunoda. “Good progress, no issues. I could just focus on my driving. That’s what I wanted so that was really good.
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“These last two days we had a little bit of bad luck, but today we put it all together and I think the mechanics and Honda did a really, really good job and there were no issues.
“I did a full race simulation and also for the tyre management side. So I had a good step forward and got good data for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
"It was really comfortable to drive all session and achieve 91 laps. So it’s been a really, really good test.”
After his qualifying runs, the 20-year-old was particularly left in awe of the performance he had at his disposal.
“I definitely enjoyed the C5, the softest tyre,” Tsunoda stated. “Big grip – I’ve never experienced grip like it. Even when I was testing at Imola or Misano, there was much less grip. I enjoyed it.
nicely done @yukitsunoda07 🚀
— Scuderia AlphaTauri (@AlphaTauriF1) March 16, 2021
our new recruit put in a solid pre-season performance as he ended the final day of testing P2 🔰👊
pic.twitter.com/16bE2369nk
“The PU, the engine, had a big improvement,” he explained. “Quite a good improvement compared to AT01, so I think we had a good start.
“I also think for the steering, we have a good step, and I have more confidence to drive into the corners. For me, it’s a really good, positive thing.”
Despite catching the attention of many, Tsunoda admits the early races are still likely to be a learning curve.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen in the races, how the physical [aspect] is going to be, how the tyre degradation is going to be in Formula 1. So I’ll just push hard from the beginning," he said.
“Maybe I will do mistakes, and some silly things, but I’m not afraid about that because to learn the limit, you have to do mistakes. So just push hard and try to get as much as possible in the points and just do my best.”
