Yuki Tsunoda hints he wants to race Max Verstappen on the same car at Red Bull replacing Sergio Perez

The young Japanese believes he is ready to compete against the newly-crowned three-time World Champion.

Yuki Tsunoda hints he wants to race Max Verstappen on the same car at Red Bull replacing Sergio Perez

Yuki Tsunoda, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez (Via IMAGO)

Yuki Tsunoda, who burst into Formula 1 in 2021 with Scuderia AlphaTauri, has been widely regarded as one of the most promising talents in the sport. The young gun is trying to establish himself as the best of the rest in the lower midfield of the pecking order.  After just four full seasons of professional car racing– he’s finally stepped up to become team leader at AlphaTauri. His performance gap to Nyck de Vries ended the Dutchman’s F1 career after just 11 races. 

Tsunoda admitted in a recent interview that there’s no big difference between himself and Red Bull’s three-time world champion Max Verstappen. He said he would love a shot as the Dutchman’s teammate. This bold statement comes amid speculations about the team’s driver lineup, with Tsunoda hinting at a desire to replace Sergio Perez, who is experiencing a massive performance slump this season.

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Tsunoda, driving the far-uncompetitive AlphaTauri, still scored three points for the team and boasts of his chances for a promotion to RedBull. He said, as reported by Total motorsport.com, “I would like to drive in the same car,” said the young Japanese. “Because I don’t know, obviously it’s hard, he’s good. But, at the same time, we never drive together, and obviously the car is different. So it’s hard to say about the driving difference.”

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He further accepted that it won’t be easy going head-to-head against the Triple World Champion. Tsunoda elaborated that he wouldn’t argue that they significantly differ in driving and performance in dry circumstances or during qualifying. He said, “Of course, his consistency is better.” And that Verstappen’s constantly on the limit. He believes the reigning champion can always drive the automobile at a high speed while maintaining control.

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Yuki Tsunoda thinks he still has a lot to learn from Max Verstappen.

Tsunoda, being one of the youngest drivers on the current Formula 1 grid, seeks to gain knowledge and racing experience alongside Verstappen. He had previously nodded that he tries to learn racing tactics like defense and braking from other Formula 1 greats like Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.

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

To the press, Tsunoda also specified where he could learn from the heavily consistent and dominant Verstappen. “I think the most impressive thing for me, is about the consistency of how he adapts to each condition,” Tsunoda continued. “For example in the Netherlands, the conditions changed a lot, half wet, fully wet.”

Verstappen, on that note, is having the season of his life. The record-breaker Dutchman was crowned the Drivers’ Championship on Saturday at the Qatar Grand Prix. He’s won 14 out of the 17 races this year, out of which ten came consecutively. He, according to RedBull’s rivals, is the driver anyone would want in their team. It is definitely going to be Tsunoda’s biggest challenge if Red Bull decides to promote him to fill in Sergio Perez’s debatable seat.

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