06 April 2023 , 20:53
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Fernando Alonso was used as an inspiration by one of his fellow Formula 1 racers who learned from one of his defending masterclasses against Lewis Hamilton.
Yuki Tsunoda has caught the eye with a few impressive performances to start the new season. Back-to-back finishes of 11th followed by a first point in Melbourne does not seem all that exciting on paper, but he has done it with arguably the slowest car on the grid.
The Japanese driver is in his third season in F1 and has, in the past, been criticised for his mistakes and struggles to keep his emotions in check. But, at the start of what looks like a make-or-break season for his career in the sport, a much more mature racer has appeared.
Tsunoda was on for 10th place in Jeddah last month but, in the dying stages and after a lot of defending, he was usurped by Kevin Magnussen. While he had every right to be frustrated, fans noticed he showed great sportmanship when he came across the Dane in parc ferme after the race.
His defending was on display again at the Australian Grand Prix, where this time he did enough to take a point home. Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast after the Melbourne race, presenter Tom Clarkson revealed a conversation he had with the AlphaTauri racer regarding the improvements he has made.
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He said: "Kevin Magnussen came on the show after a really close battle with Yuki Tsunoda – he actually passed him with two laps to go in the race – but he said Yuki really impressed him with his car positioning. So I then thought, 'That's interesting, I'll ask Yuki about that'.
Yuki Tsunoda is impressing with his mature performances this season (Getty Images)"I said, 'Have you managed to improve your racecraft since you've been in Formula 1', and he said, 'Yeah I have, actually'. I asked, 'How have you done that?' and he said, 'Well, I've been looking at videos'.
"Particularly, of the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2021 when Fernando Alonso kept Lewis Hamilton – in a much faster Mercedes – behind him for 10 laps. He said, 'I was watching the way Alonso was doing that and I learned a huge amount'.
"Clearly, he's been able to put what he say into practice – both in Saudi and again here [in Australia]. That AlphaTauri is the slowest car in a straight line yet, for lap after lap, he kept Oscar Piastri behind him and I was really impressed. I think it was all car positioning."