Yuki Tsunoda explains how becoming AlphaTauri’s No:1 driver has changed him

Yuki Tsunoda has contributed three points to AlphaTauri's total of five this season with impressive performances in the slowest car on the grid.

Yuki Tsunoda explains how becoming AlphaTauri’s No:1 driver has changed him

Yuki Tsunoda (Via IMAGO)

Yuki Tsunoda is in his third year with Red Bull’s sister team, AlphaTauri. During his time at AlphaTauri, he has had four different teammates, with three of them joining this year. After Pierre Gasly moved to Alpine, he was joined by Nyck de Vries. However, de Vries was quickly replaced by Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian has been out since his crash at Dutch GP Liam Lawson stepped in as a temporary replacement. Since Gasly left the team, Tsunoda has been the lead driver of the team.

Acknowledging the changes in his team, Yuki Tsunoda admitted that he had forged his path to extract the best performance from his car. He conceded that he enjoys the challenge of not relying on data from his teammates this year, indicating that he’s taking a more independent approach to his driving and performance analysis.

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“Sometimes, obviously, I’m looking for it. But I’m mainly trying to discover what I can do without any data, I think in the end that’s the kind of things I need as a driver in the future anyway, so for me it’s good training,” said Yuki Tsunoda, as reported by racefans.net

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Yuki Tsunoda admits that AlphaTauri would have been a more complete team with Pierre Gasly

In 2019, Yuki Tsunoda was signed by the Red Bull Junior Team after winning the F4 Japanese Championship title in 2018 with Red Bull’s support. The Japanese driver finished third in the 2020 F2 Championship. This led to his Formula One debut in 2021 with AlphaTauri. The first two seasons have been tough for the Japanese driver, but the struggles have brought out the best in him.

Helmut Marko and Yuki Tsunoda
Helmut Marko and Yuki Tsunoda (Speedweek.com)

Pierre Gasly’s move to Alpine, though, was a blow for the young driver despite it allowing him to establish himself more. Tsunoda and Gasly had a strong understanding and working relationship at AlphaTauri. He learned a lot from Gasly during their time on the team. “New drivers have to discover what they’re doing, how they’re doing, how they’re operating. I think I learned a lot from Pierre,” said Yuki Tsunoda 

Yuki Tsunoda is having strong runs on the track, whenever his car isn’t giving up on him; he currently holds the 7th position in the drivers’ championship standings, earning 3 points. AlphaTauri currently occupies the last position in the championship standings. Acknowledging their least competitive season, Tsunoda pointed out that the team might have been more complete had Gasly been there with him.

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