Tsunoda "20 per cent surprised" to remain in F1

Yuki Tsunoda has claimed he was "20 per cent surprised" to have kept his AlphaTauri seat for a second season in F1.

Tsunoda struggled throughout his rookie season last year despite showing glimpses of potential in the season-opener in Bahrain where he pulled off numerous overtakes - including a lunge on idol Fernando Alonso - on the way to a points finish.

A crash in qualifying at Imola seemed to spark a downfall for the Japanese driver, who continued to find himself involved in incidents as he fell off the pace of team-mate Pierre Gasly.

Only six more points scores would follow the 21 races after Bahrain as Tsunoda finished 14th in the standings, 78 points adrift of Gasly.

When the deal to keep him at the Red Bull-affiliated team was announced, Tsunoda himself revealed his surprise at the retention but speaking in an interview which included GPFans at the end of last year, he explained: “I was talking and I said I had a little bit of a surprise, but to be honest, I did have [surprise] but not so much.

"Okay I was actually struggling but also at the same time I showed, a couple of times, good performances and good improvements which normally it's not enough, but for sure, I had a little bit of confidence that I can be part of the driver [line-up] in 2022.

“So I was 20 per cent, maybe, surprised but most of the things I was feeling…of course, I felt like, ‘Oh okay, now I [can] afford this, more [time] to learn’ and I felt more relaxed but there’s not much more I can add.”

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