Tsunoda “learned a lot” from Hamilton during eight-lap F1 battle in Turkey

Tsunoda spent the early phase of the race defending from Hamilton at Istanbul Park after the seven-time world champion was forced to start from 11th on the grid after his engine penalty.

The Japanese rookie defended well, keeping Hamilton behind for eight laps before surrendering the position into Turns 3 and 4.

Reflecting on the battle with Hamilton, Tsunoda said: “I enjoyed it a lot. Especially [when] I didn't expect I could block him or keep him behind for eight laps. So that was good. After that, eventually I spun. But, until then, it was really fun.”

Tsunoda revealed that he was able to learn from Hamilton’s driving when battling but also running behind the Mercedes driver.

"And then, after he passed, he made the gap really fast so I couldn't see much but how he overtook...how he took different lines and tried to overtake me... I learned a lot from him, even when I was in front of him. But yeah, I learned a couple of things from him,” Tsunoda explained.

AlphaTauri is involved in a tight fight with Alpine for fifth in the constructors’ championship - just 12 points separate the two teams.

Tsunoda has scored just 18 points of AlphaTauri’s 92 points in 2021, and he admitted that the pressure is on to perform.

"For me, it's more pressure but not team pressure to score points. For me, at this point, they want me to be more focused on my driving and also progressing through the race week.

"Most of the tracks we're going to race, they're going to be new tracks. Only Abu Dhabi is a track I already drove. Of course, for me, I want to help the team to be fifth in the constructors’ championship that we are aiming for. I think we have a good car and a good team with good mechanics so we have a good confidence that we can be fifth in the championship."