There was much fanfare and hype following home favorite Yuki Tsunoda this past week at Suzuka Circuit.

But in the end, Tsunoda could only manage a somewhat disappointing 12th place finish Sunday in an improving AlphaTauri car that nonetheless remains far off most of the midfield.

¡°Mainly it¡¯s unfortunate that I wasn¡¯t able to score points in front of the Japanese fans,¡± he told reporters after the race.