There were plenty of very good performances up and down the grid during Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix.
After a DNF in Australia, Max Verstappen recorded his third victory of the season and extended his lead in the Drivers’ Championship.
Writing on social media, Karun Chandhok reserved special praise for one driver.
There were so many deciding factors off the track that made the race in Suzuka particularly tricky.
The red flag brought out on the first lap after a crash between Alex Albon and Daniel Ricciardo forced plenty of teams to re-think their strategy.
McLaren appeared to throw away a few points with how they dealt with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s race.
It was far from straightforward for Mercedes too as they tried a one-stop strategy that left them fighting for minor points.
However, Chandhok wanted to praise Yuki Tsunoda for scoring points for the first time at the Japanese Grand Prix.
The Visa Cash App RB driver secured a valuable 10-place finish that extends their lead over the four teams below them in the Constructors’ Championship.
READ MORE: Visa Cash App RB driver Yuki Tsunoda’s life outside F1 from height to parents
Karun Chandhok left very impressed by Yuki Tsunoda during Japanese Grand Prix
The fate of the two RB cars was once again on two sides of the spectrum as it has been for much of this season.
Daniel Ricciardo desperately needs a good result soon and after missing out on Q3 by the tiniest of margins to his teammate on Saturday appeared to be in a much stronger position.
He had spoken about the possibility of a new chassis – something Williams must wish they have available to them right now – but a slow getaway ultimately cost him his place in the race.
The Australian was looking in his left mirror to cover off Lance Stroll and didn’t spot Alex Albon on his right.
The pair both ended up in the barriers bringing the race to a halt.
However, with nine cars – including Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll – fighting for tenth, it was Tsunoda who came out on top at the end of the Japanese Grand Prix, much to the delight of Karun Chandhok.
There were several key moments in the race that made the difference for the 23-year-old.
Yuki Tsunoda benefits from brilliant RB performance
Taking to social media, Chandhok said: “Super drive by @yukitsunoda07 today – no home race pressure there!
“Awesome overtaking moves too.”
Tsunoda actually got off to a poor start on lap one and narrowly went into the first corner ahead of his teammate.
He lost two positions by the time the red flag had come out, but an awful restart for Nico Hulkenberg meant he was up to ninth once the race properly got underway.
Tsunoda had no way to keep Lewis Hamilton behind him but then the battle was on with the likes of Hulkenberg, Stroll and Valtteri Bottas to secure that final point.
The key moment came during the last round of pit stops when five cars all headed into the pit lane at the same time.
RB produced one of the fastest stops of the race and Tsunoda leapfrogged his rivals to move up to 11.
Hulkenberg entered the pits for the final time and from there the Japanese driver earned another point for RB when he took the chequered flag one lap down to the eventual winner Verstappen and Chandhok was delighted for Tsunoda.
His improvement this season has been recognised by Sebastian Vettel and despite comparisons to Romain Grosjean, he looks like a much more composed driver.
He will want to head to the Chinese Grand Prix maintaining his momentum and the advantage he has over his teammate in the race to try and earn a seat in the sister Red Bull team.
The post ‘Super drive’: Karun Chandhok left seriously impressed by ‘awesome’ driver after Japanese Grand Prix appeared first on F1 Oversteer.