Yuki Tsunoda clueless about AlphaTauri's prospects at the 2023 F1 Austrian GP

Yuki Tsunoda feels like he and his team are going into a bit of an unknown as F1 heads into the upcoming Austrian GP.

Tsunoda has had a difficult first half of the season, narrowly missing the opportunity to score points in many races. Furthermore, AlphaTauri are gradually going backwards in the pecking order, while Haas, William, and Alfa Romeo are taking small steps forward.

Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, the Japanese driver explained how he and his team need good qualifying, especially in the sprint race, where only the top eight drivers score points. He said:

"It's hard, because we need a good qualifying, and because we have Sprint qualifying, the top eight [positions] will count [for points in the Sprint race] and we'll have to be around P9 at least in Sprint qualifying to score points."

Tsunoda was also unsure about how his car would perform at the Red Bull Ring. He was not too optimistic about overtaking others and quickly moving up the grid, but had some hope from the new upgrade package that AlphaTauri could bring in the next race. He concluded:

"In the race, I think it's going to be a little bit difficult to overtake there as well, so I wouldn't expect too much," said Tsunoda. We definitely need a good car there, and I don't know if our car will suit well there, to be honest. But we still have [some] updates, so why not? You never know what's going to happen."

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Yuki Tsunoda addresses problems in braking system which Pierre Gasly used to experience in 2022

On several occasions, Yuki Tsunoda has come on the team radio to complain about the braking system of AlphaTauri's AT04. Speaking to Autosport.com, the Japanese driver explained how the lack of efficiency in the brakes that Pierre Gasly used to encounter when he was on the team is now being experienced by him. He said:

"The brake issues we have are from probably last year. It happened more often towards Pierre rather than me. But this happens to me more [this season]. Literally, I don't feel any efficiency from braking. It just doesn't warm up, doesn't feel any efficiency so you cannot push as much as I want to in the rain conditions."

The 23-year-old added:

“Obviously, that makes the tires colder, it just goes worse and worse. [In Monaco] I had [problems] from FP1, which also affected my qualifying performance as well. It's a bit of a shame because I have to do extra build-up compared to other competitors just to warm the brakes, which is a bit unnecessary.”

Yuki Tsunoda is currently 17th in the constructors' championship with only two points in his pocket.