“I don’t think he’s at our level”, Christian Horner passes ruthless remark on Yuki Tsunoda’s chances for entering Red Bull
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In 2021, AlphaTauri had recruited Japanese racer Yuki Tsunoda to partner up with Pierre Gasly after he finishes third in the 2020 F2 Championship. The Rookie of the Year recipient has shown tremendous ability behind the wheels whenever he has gone out on the racetrack. While the young racer does not have the advantage of a competitive car, he has still amassed a career total of 46 points till now from the 46 race starts that he has had in Formula 1.
In 2016, Yuki Tsunoda got backing from Red Bull’s previous engine sponsor Honda through the ‘Honda Formula Dream Project’, and three years later, he caught the eye of the executives at the Milton-Keynes-based outfit. Under RBR’s wing, he was taken up by Red Bull sister team AlphaTauri for his debut in Formula 1 at the age of 20. Now, he has already spent two full seasons in the highest league of motorsports, and is serving as the senior driver for the Faenza-based team after Pierre Gasly‘s departure.
During his initial days in Formula 1, Yuki Tsunoda’s rants on the team radio at the races became a problem for AlphaTauri, and Helmut Marko even arranged for a new psychologist for him. Now, he has improved a lot, and keeps his emotions under control while charging at his rivals on the grid. But still, Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner feels that Yuki Tsunoda is not yet the right fit for his squad as he is not ready to handle the promotion yet.
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Christian Horner believes Yuki Tsunoda needs more time to become “more rounded”
Red Bull is currently reigning at the top of the Championship Standings, with their star racer Max Verstappen sitting atop the points table as well. Thus, every racer would want to have a chance of driving Red Bull’s Championship-worthy car, but their Team Principal Christian Horner believes Yuki Tsunoda is not ready for the responsibility yet. It is a well-known fact that many racers are promoted from AlphaTauri to Red Bull once they show their acumen such as Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen, and Pierre Gasly.
But in Yuki Tsunoda’s case, Christian Horner reckons he needs to spend more time at AlphaTauri. He said, “I don’t think he’s at our level, yet, but he’s making great progress. We’re seeing he’s maturing as a driver. He certainly has the speed and I think as he gains experience, I’m sure he’s going to become more rounded. He’s driven some strong races so far this year.”
Yuki Tsunoda has shown some good performances in the initial races of 2023 with two consecutive top-10 finishes in Australia and Azerbaijan. Now, the F1 circus is all set to move to Miami for the second Miami GP in F1 history, and it remains to be seen how Yuki fares in it.
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Riddhi Mondal
(1821 Articles Published)