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From beach to Bulls: relaxed Tsunoda savours rare F1 drive / Photo: © AFP
From beach to Bulls: relaxed Tsunoda savours rare F1 drive
Japanese Formula One driver Yuki Tsunoda was relaxing on the beach when he got the call he had been "dying" for: the reserve Red Bull driver was back on the grid.
A wrist injury to Isack Hadjar meant Tsunoda finds himself competing for the Red Bull junior team, Racing Bulls, this weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort.
It will be the first time Tsunoda has seen competitive racing since losing his Red Bull seat at the end of last season.
A beaming Tsunoda told reporters he was lying on a beach in Greece with friends when he received the news.
"I don't want to make out like I was just hanging out on the beach all the time. I was still training and everything," joked Tsunoda.
"But at the moment I received a call from my manager at the beach, pretty relaxed and watching the nice beautiful ocean, and I just suddenly got a call, 'OK, you have to go to the UK'."
He protested that he had only been on holiday in Greece for 24 hours, asking why he had been recalled to base.
"Maybe you might race this week," he was told.
The Japanese driver has a steep learning curve. He said he only stepped into the Racing Bulls simulator on Wednesday, and regulations have been overhauled since he last raced competitively.
"But so far I'm not really getting confused or overwhelmed," said the relaxed Tsunoda.
"It was the moment I was waiting for and I was dying to have this kind of moment," he said.
"I'm not setting any expectations. For now, I just enjoy and just have fun, which I wanted to have for a long time."
T.Martin--SFF
