The United States Grand Prix witnessed the heart-tugging tale of two contrasting fortunes as a beleaguered Daniel Ricciardo made a somewhat ‘miserable’ return, while young gun Yuki Tsunoda sparkled, seizing a commendable P8 finish.

Ricciardo, fresh off a five-race hiatus post a hand injury, trudged across the Austin tarmac to end at 15th(+2 because Hamilton and Leclerc DSQ’ed), only to later bump up two spots, thanks to a misstep by Hamilton and Leclerc. But even the racing gods’ little favor couldn’t mask his woes. Contrarily, Tsunoda’s smooth run into the points made for quite the stark counter-narrative.

Daniel Ricciardo fumbles as Yuki Tsunoda ends up in points

Returning from a five-race hiatus due to a broken metacarpal, Ricciardo, unfortunately, couldn’t match the Japanese prodigy’s pace. The Australian summed up his day as quoted by Motorsport.com: “At best, we’re a top-10 car and when you put damage into it, we are certainly out of the points. Definitely most of our day today was misfortune, let’s say.”

His race was peppered with obstacles, from debris damaging his brake duct to an untimely pitstop which led him to comment, “I told the team that, ‘I’m sorry, guys, I got nothing right now. I really can’t do anything. That made our race a pretty miserable one.”

Tsunoda, on the other hand, is surely beaming with his epic run, placing a confident foot in the points. While Ricciardo ruminated on a ‘could-have-been’ top 10 finish, Tsunoda cruised ahead, possibly humming to a tune of victory.

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However, it’s not all doom and gloom for our comeback kid. With Mexico and Brazil races on the horizon, Ricciardo is gunning for more seat time and better results. And Tsunoda, well, he’s Tsunoda. Why?

Yuki Tsunoda’s “Heart Attack” moment at Austin 

In an eventful United States Grand Prix, Yuki Tsunoda had his heart racing for reasons beyond the intense competition. The AlphaTauri newbie, renowned for his animated banter with race engineer Mattia Spini, got a surprise from the pit wall.

“At first, I got a heart attack when the team called me in to box, because I thought there was an issue,” Tsunoda exclaimed. But it was a strategic call to gun for the fastest lap. “It was my first experience going for the fastest lap in the final lap of the race, and I really enjoyed it, it was thrilling,” he added gleefully.

His gamble, in the light of Alonso’s retirement, paid off. Especially after the post-race disqualification of Hamilton and Leclerc, Tsunoda found himself at a satisfying P8. “We got slightly lucky with Fernando [Alonso] in the end, but we maximized the performance because if we weren’t driving there, we wouldn’t have been able to benefit and score points,” he said.

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So, as the sun set on Austin, one driver rode high on adrenaline, while another was left longing for a do-over. Mexico, the stage is yours!