Tsunoda: I want to apologise to the team

The Star that was born in Bahrain earlier this year has waned and is progressively dimming as Tsunoda's temperament and errors are suggesting his promotion to the top flight is somewhat premature.

At Paul Ricard Circuit on Saturday winding up for his first hot lap spun exiting Turn 1 in the opening minutes of qualifying Q1, his AlphaTauri banging backwards into the barriers. A proper rookie error.

Unable to find a gear, he had to alight triggering a red flag as marshals recovered the car. With no lap time to his name, he will start the race, from the back of the grid, at the FIA steward's discretion.

Tsunoda said in the team' qualifying day report: “It was my mistake today in Qualifying and I want to apologise to the team. I just used too much of the yellow curb at turn one and I spun out.

"I tried to brake as much as possible to avoid contact with the barrier, but it was like skating on ice as I was going backwards. It was fairly low impact, but there is some damage to the car so the team will have to work hard tonight to get me ready for tomorrow.

"The best way to thank the team would be to have a good race tomorrow. It’s difficult to overtake here but I’ll push as hard as I can every lap and use every opportunity I get," promised Tsunoda.

Guillaume Dezoteux, AlphaTauri Head of Vehicle Performance, said of the rookie error: “Unfortunately for Yuki Qualifying didn't last long. The car was sharp at the start of the lap and he ran too tight in turn one, which meant he lost it. He sustained some damage on the rear-end but we will be able to fix it for tomorrow without a doubt."