Tsunoda: 'It's not going to be easy for me'

For Yuki Tsunoda, it is an exciting phase of the championship. The Japanese driver has virtually no experience on any of the circuits that will follow this season. So it's travel, get used to it, race and quickly get on the plane for the next race during an intensive triple-header in Mexico, Brazil and Qatar.

Bit of fear

Not surprisingly, the little Tsunuda is looking ahead with a little bit of trepidation. Via his team AlphaTauri, he says: "We now have three races in a row and I expect it will be very tough, moving around with long flights in between and a complicated jet lag situation. These three tracks will be completely new to me and they look quite tricky. On top of that, in Brazil, we have the Sprint Qualifying format again, which means less free practice. I am going to once again focus on making progress through the sessions and stick to my plan."

Before it's the turn of the Interlagos circuit, Mexico awaits. The high altitude of the circuit, in particular, is likely to have an impact on performance. "I am keen to see what effect the altitude in Mexico City will have on me, as I have never driven before in these conditions. With a helmet on, I can imagine it could be quite difficult and demanding on the neck and arms, but apparently, the main effect is on your heart rate. I don’t normally have any issue with heart rate, but in my training recently, to prepare for Mexico, I have focussed more on endurance with this in mind."

Yuki Tsunoda expects the track in Mexico to be very special. "Mexico seems like quite a special track, very different to normal, especially sector one, which is really tight with many 90 degree corners and some slow turns, one of which is only around 60 to 70 km/h. I heard that because of the altitude the thinner air has a big impact on the aero downforce so all these factors mean I think Mexico will be very interesting but not such an easy experience for me.”

Delicious food

Lots of question marks, then. But Tsunoda isn't worried about one thing: the food! "I’ve been told Mexico has one of the biggest Japanese communities in Latin America so maybe I can find some good Japanese restaurants!"