The Monaco anomaly Yuki Tsunoda only knew of two weeks ago

AlphaTauri launch the AT02 — Photo: © LAT Images

Yuki Tsunoda

The Monaco anomaly Tsunoda only knew of two weeks ago

Tsunoda will drive for the first time around Monaco this weekend

GPFans Staff

Tuesday 18 May 2021 15:28 Updated: 16:36

AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda has revealed he only discovered a fortnight ago that practice for the Monaco Grand Prix was conducted on Thursday and not Friday.

Alongside Haas duo Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin and Williams' Nicholas Latifi, Tsunoda is one of four drivers who will be making their Monaco F1 debuts this weekend.

But unlike Schumacher, Mazepin and Latifi, Japanese driver Tsuonda has never previously driven around the streets of the Principality in a junior category.

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Remarkably, Tsunoda was unaware of the historic anomaly regarding Monaco and practice, which is a long-held tradition due to the fact the race was originally run on the bank holiday weekend of Ascension Day.

That resulted in the racing taking Friday off to ensure the day could be observed, and that history has continued.

Tsunoda said: "I’ve never raced in Monaco in any category, but I have raced in Macau for example, so I have quite a bit of experience on street circuits. They’re okay.

"You need a very different approach on a street circuit like Monaco, especially considering I have never been there before.

"Track evolution is a big factor there, with very low grip at first and then it changes with every session. The key will be not to make any mistakes in FP1 or FP2 in order to maximise my time on track. "There are many unusual factors about this weekend and it was only while we were in Spain that I learned that you practice on Thursday with no track time on Friday.

"I will have to make sure I do not lose focus or concentration, but I’m sure I can adapt."

Tsunoda claims to have been "resetting his mind" after declaring himself "unhappy" with his driving at the last race in Spain, notably after making a mistake in qualifying.

Although Tsunoda, who turned 21 earlier this month, has spent a considerable period of time in the simulator preparing for Monaco, he concedes the potential struggle will not all be on his side.

"Our car has not always been at its best in the slow corners, which is what we will face in Monaco," added Tsunoda.

"But I think that even if the car is obviously important, the main factor will be how much I can adapt to the track.

"During practice, I will be trying to give the engineers as much good feedback as possible to help them set up the car, while I focus just on my driving.

"Qualifying will be about having confidence in the car because that is even more important than usual on a street circuit.”