Martin Brundle has praised a Formula 1 driver for having a ‘great’ season following his surprisingly strong display in qualifying for the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix on Saturday.
It was not the day Sergio Perez or Fernando Alonso expected or wanted. But several drivers delivered for their teams with Charles Leclerc taking pole position from Oscar Piastri. Ferrari and McLaren even tied down the second row of the grid with Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris.
Red Bull had to put all of their eggs in their Max Verstappen basket after Perez bowed out in Q1. The Mexican would only claim P18 behind Aston Martin ace Alonso and Logan Sargeant of Williams. Alex Albon also put one Williams car in Q3 for the first time this season with P9.
Martin Brundle praises Yuki Tsunoda for having a ‘great’ season for Visa Cash App RB
But Yuki Tsunoda sealing P8 on the Monaco GP grid with Visa Cash App RB took Brundle by surprise. The Sky Sports pundit felt compelled to voice his praise after spotting what the 24-year-old achieved on Saturday. He even turned the spotlight away from Albon to praise him.
Tsunoda sealed his best qualifying result of the year so far last time out with P8 at the Emilia Romagna GP. He fell to P10 in the race at Imola but the point took the Japanese talent up to 15 for the term. He is 10th in the drivers’ standings, with teammate Daniel Ricciardo in 14th.
It was also the fourth time that Tsunoda has finished in the points this season. He has taken each top-10 finish in the last five races and will strive for another on Sunday. With Ricciardo yet to score any points in a Grand Prix, too, Brundle could only praise what Tsunoda is doing.
Brundle said on Sky Sports F1 (25/5, 16:04): “Tsunoda’s having a great little season for RB.”
Yuki Tsunoda can achieve a career first in the 2024 Monaco GP
Ricciardo scored all five of his points so far this season during the F1 Sprint at the Miami GP. The 34-year-old has not finished any Grand Prix higher than the P12 he claimed in the Perth native’s home Australian GP. Tsunoda took his first points this season in Melbourne with P7.
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Tsunoda even matched his P7 result from down under come the Miami GP when Formula 1 visited Florida. Now, a strong qualifying session at the Monaco GP that drew Bundle’s praise could see Tsunoda score points in three successive Grand Prix for the first time in his career.
The Japanese talent has never scored points in three successive Grand Prix from 74 entries so far. Imola yielded the fifth time that Tsunoda has scored points in back-to-back events, as well. He followed the first four instances with a P15, a did not start, a P11 and a retirement.
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