“It was my mistake”: Yuki Tsunoda blames himself for the poor start after a disappointing Dutch GP

Yuki Tsunoda blamed himself for the poor start at the 2024 Dutch GP, which resulted in a poor result. Speaking to media including Sportskeeda in Monza, the RB driver claimed that he was able to understand the issue leading to the poor start-line performance.

Speaking after the Dutch GP, Yuki Tsunoda spoke to the media, including Sportskeeda, and suggested that he was unaware of the reason behind the poor starts during the race. He was unsure whether it was a driver error or a technical one. Coming into Monza, the Japanese driver reckoned it was his fault and he had a better understanding of the issue. Both RB drivers lost places at the start of the Dutch GP, and the 22-year-old couldn't recover from it and ended up finishing 17th. However, Daniel Ricciardo was able to finish ahead in 12th.

For the majority of the first half of the season, both RB drivers complained several times about the starting performance of the car. According to Yuki Tsunoda, it is the first time that a driver error has been caused from his end. However, he claimed that the team had been working on the technical front to improve any starting line performance issues on the car over the summer break.

Asked by Sportskeeda if he had understood the reason behind the poor starts, Yuki Tsunoda said:

"Yeah, it was more slacks for myself rather than like car. So I think Daniel did well in terms of start. I was wearing soft tire and losing almost positions. So it was my mistake more than coming from car. So Daniel had a pretty decent start kind of similar as other competitors I guess. So I'm sure it comes a lot more comes to myself rather than the car and I think teams work pretty hard on it. about the starts over the summer break time. So look it is it's yeah I have to train more.”

Further asked if he expected improvements going into the Italian GP, Yuki Tsunoda said:

“I mean it’s first time also I had a kind of like that terrible starts almost first time in this season. So I know what what's the reason is and already had a kind of idea what was the issue. So yeah had a kind of modification to the system everything and should be working well this time.“

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Yuki Tsunoda feels competitors stepping up has made them look weaker since Barcelona

Yuki Tsunoda believes that the Barcelona upgrade was a setback for their team and the races after were consumed by trying to rectify issues on the car. In the meanwhile, he reckoned that competitors stepping up did not make the job easier for either of the RB drivers. He feels that reverting from the Barcelona spec car to the previous spec pushed them backward and did not yield the desired results.

Asked about the team losing direction after the Barcelona upgrade, Yuki Tsunoda said:

“Yeah, I think, I mean, the main thing was the upgrades we put in Barcelona. We were expecting it should work well and they didn't work well. And that Barcelona floor meant to be enough for the next five, six races, to compete similar places as we were fighting in the beginning of the season. But in the end didn't work so have to revert back and just we stayed kind of performance like that's exactly the same as almost second race the third race. And other just competitors able to step up with a new upgrade. So it's not like we're back a step down just others step up. So just we need a new upgrade to step a little bit more to fight against like Aston Martin or whatever, like we were doing before. But should be should be soon, that we're going to have upgrades. So let's see how it works.”

Yuki Tsunoda has been unable to score points in the last six races and has beaten Ricciardo in only one race since the Canadian GP. However, his current points tally is 22 points, at least ten points clear of his more experienced teammate. RB are currently sixth in the standings with 22 points, but their rivals Aston Martin, Alpine and Williams improving their performance has made the job harder.

Given that the top four team drivers occupy the eight spots out of the ten points finishing places on the grid, it leaves the midfield teams only two spots to fight for. Those two spots have at least six teams and 12 drivers fighting for position. Given that Monza remains a home race where the Faenza-based team has fared well in the past, it will be interesting to see how both drivers deliver in the Italian GP weekend.