Tsunoda praises mechanics after Imola recovery drive, admits he won't be a 'hero' in qualifying

Yuki Tsunoda expressed his gratitude for the "massive" repair job by his mechanics ahead of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, rewarding their efforts with a points finish after a recovery drive from the pit lane.

Tsunoda's qualifying session on Saturday at Imola was cut short by a major accident that saw his car roll and sustain damage to all four corners.

Despite being unharmed and cleared to race, Tsunoda's team worked through the night to prepare his car, resulting in a pit lane start.

Tsunoda steadily climbed through the field during the race, aided by Virtual Safety Car and Safety Car periods, ultimately finishing 10th following Kimi Antonelli's late retirement.

When asked about rescuing a point, Tsunoda stated: "Yeah, at least I'm happy that I gave something to the team, especially with the amount of work they put [into repairing the car] overnight, the mechanics – it was massive.

"I'm okay that I at least gave something, but at the same time it was very frustrating still from the last Qualifying… I couldn't really sleep much last night. Anyway, I have to move on and it is what it is. I'm still okay that I gave something to the team."

Tsunoda also discussed his revised approach for future qualifying sessions, admitting he tried to be a Q1 "hero" after a strong start to the weekend, which saw him trail teammate Max Verstappen by a small margin in Friday practice.

"To be honest, the one-lap pace was pretty good," he commented. "Until FP2 especially I was pretty close with Max, and in FP3 I didn't have much opportunity to have any laps.

"I had a quite okay confidence [going] into the Qualifying, and that made it even worse with myself, that I probably made too much expectation to myself. I tried to be a hero in the first lap in Q1, which is really unnecessary."

He concluded: "It's just those things that I have to step back and [have a] rethink about it, and do better next time, for sure."