Yuki Tsunoda had a last-lap move on Valtteri Bottas in F1 Abu Dhabi GP which was unseen due to other dramas as he ended up with his best result.
For AlphaTauri’s Tsunoda, a driver who came in for a lot of criticism earlier this season, even before it was announced that he was being retained for 2022 in September, he produced his strongest drive, best drive and most mature performance of the season with a spirited effort to fourth place in Abu Dhabi GP.
It got lost in the shenanigans up on the road. Starting the last lap in fifth, he got past the lapped cars of Mick Schumacher and Lance Stroll before an audacious move on Mercedes’ Bottas at Turn 6 saw him pass the Finn and hunt down Carlos Sainz for third. He pulled out of the slipstream of the Finn and dived off the racing line into the left-hander.
It surprised Bottas who had to back off as he ended up behind teammate of Tsunoda, Pierre Gasly as AlphaTauri rounded their year in the best way possible. It was an excellent drive for the Japanese youngster which proved Alpha Tauri made the right decision.
“The race pace, I did not expect it to be that good to be honest, so in the end managed to pass Bottas, so I’m quite happy,” said Tsunoda. “I mean I had a little bit of a mistake in the last straight before turn 9, maybe I could also pass Sainz. Maybe this is the next step but anyway good way to finish the year.
“It’s amazing to be finishing the season on such a high, it’s been a long journey getting back to this point, but I’ve really rebuilt my confidence and it’s great heading into the off-season with this incredible result,” summed up Tsunoda.
The result didn’t help him leapfrog Stroll in the standings as he ended up in 14th ahead of the Alfa Romeo, Williams and Haas drivers, but it sure ended his year on a bright note. He is a popular guy who endured a baptism of fire at times, especially with the hype he came in with and the performances of Gasly.
The Frenchman was happy to have bounced back with a fifth a place too as AlphaTauri registered their best points haul as a team with 142 in their kitty, beating the previous best of 107 which came in 2020 courtesy of Gasly and Daniil Kvyat. Their next step for 2022 is to break into the Top 5 constructors.
The story was written by Neil Farell
Here’s Yuki Tsunoda passing Valtteri Bottas: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.2021-abu-dhabi-grand-prix-tsunoda-grabs-brilliant-p4-with-last-lap-overtake-on-bottas.1718956313221683582.html
Here’s what Liam Lawson said after his AlphaTauri test