THE STRATEGIST: How Tsunoda beat the odds to snatch a point at his home race

Yuki Tsunoda finished the Japanese Grand Prix in P10 to secure the final points scoring position – and his first points finish at his home race. With the bottom five teams – including Tsunoda’s RB squad – a step slower than the fastest five it's always very difficult for those drivers to secure any points, so how did the Japanese racer beat the odds and snatch that 10th place? Former Aston Martin Head of Strategy Bernie Collins explains all…

Tsunoda started the race on the medium tyre from P10 on the grid, most likely planning a two-stop strategy using two sets of hard tyres. This was quickest strategy on paper. In order to gain points by the end Tsunoda would not only have to contend with the similarly paced cars behind on the grid but also the faster Aston Martin of Lance Stroll, who had under performed in qualifying and started 16th.