“I have more leadership,” Yuki Tsunoda wants to takes the reigns of AlphaTauri amidst Nyck De Vries’s poor performances

Yuki Tsunoda has made an attempt to clarify his position at AlphaTauri with DeVries as his teammate.

“I have more leadership,” Yuki Tsunoda wants to takes the reigns of AlphaTauri amidst Nyck De Vries’s poor performances

Yuki Tsunoda (Via Red Bull)

Yuki Tsunoda got the bump up to Formula 1 after competing and getting good results in F2. A move to AlphaTauri was great for both parties as it gave the rookie a chance. Apart from that, the relationship between Honda and Red Bull had also strengthened. Looking back, it is invariably clear that things have changed completely.

The 2023 F1 season will be Yuki Tsunoda’s third year in Formula 1 and with AlphaTauri. While the Japanese driver was previously partnered up with Pierre Gasly, the Frenchman left the team after 2022 and has joined Alpine. To replace Pierre, Nyck De Vries came into play. After winning the Formula E championship, it seemed like he would fit right in.

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However, that has not been the case. It was assumed that Nyck De Vries would lead AlphaTauri but with his poor results so far, he has been on caution mode. Dr Helmut Marko is closely observing his performances. This means that there is an opportunity for Yuki Tsunoda to take the reigns of the Italian squad. The Japanese F1 pilot has made his intentions very clear.

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Yuki Tsunoda wants be the leader at AlphaTauri

AlphaTauri drivers Nyck De Vries and Yuki Tsunoda
AlphaTauri drivers Nyck De Vries and Yuki Tsunoda

In an interview, here is what he had to say. “I think I have to be, especially since it’s my third year and because we’ve lost Pierre [Gasly], [the team] want someone to trust,” he said. “And I have to be someone who can give a new impetus, especially now that we are having some performance difficulties.So I want to be as comfortable as possible in terms of on-track performance, so whatever car they give, at least you know I will give 100%,” he continues.

“And I want to feel like this. I don’t want the team to worry about my performance, which I don’t think happened when Pierre was there, especially in 2021,” he stated. “I feel I have more leadership. I’m starting to feel more like a leader,” the Japanese driver further concluded. It has not been the best of starts to the season for AlphaTauri as the Squad has been struggling for consistency in points finishes.

Yuki Tsunoda never had to worry about leadership at AlphaTauri until now. Last year, Pierre Gasly was leading the team but this year it is different. While Tsunoda has had consistency in his results, there is still a long road to go in order to get to competing with the top midfielders on the F1 grid. Till then, it will be interesting to see what decisions are made in order to highlight which driver will get the number 1 status.

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