In his fourth Formula 1 season, Yuki Tsunoda has established himself as a fast and consistent driver and has blossomed from an underestimated rookie into a sought-after talent. A fellow driver from the F1 paddock is not at all surprised by this development: his former AlphaTauri colleague Pierre Gasly. “I’m probably the only one in the paddock who knew from the start that he was very talented and very skilled. I always saw that he was very fast. He was a good teammate,” the Frenchman enthuses about Tsunoda.
In his first years, Tsunoda was more likely to attract attention through his tirades on the radio than through his outstanding sporting performances. But he has become more level-headed, as the Japanese driver himself recently said – only to attract attention immediately afterwards with a tantrum at the Austrian GP. The serious insult that Tsunoda let himself be carried away with during qualifying was punished by the FIA.
Nonetheless, Gasly notes that Tsunoda has matured: “He has learned and his driving, his racing has matured. I think we have seen this year that he minimises the mistakes, that he is very competitive and that he has managed to get the points. He is a very reliable driver.”
Difficult start at AlphaTauri: Is Pierre Gasly to blame?
Hardly anyone else can judge the development of the Japanese Formula 1 driver better. Tsunoda competed in his rookie season in 2021 alongside Gasly. In their two years together at At AlphaTauri, some people doubted him, said the Frenchman, who now drives for Alpine. “I always had the feeling that it wasn’t fair,” Gasly defended his former teammate.
Gasly explains why it was a big challenge for Tsunoda at the beginning: “You get the credits for whoever you’re racing against, which is your teammate. At the time, I had just come back from Red Bull and the whole situation wasn’t exactly in his favour. But when I left, I knew he would do well.”
Red Bull’s philosophy sets a clear path for its young talents: training in the sister team so that after a few years they have gained enough experience and are fit enough to move up to the A team. But after Sergio Perez’s contracts with Red Bull and Yuki Tsunoda’s with Racing Bulls were extended, it is clear that the Japanese will not get the chance to play for the reigning world champions next year either.
“I hope that he was taken into account in the consideration for the place at Red Bull. Because for me it is a strong package and yes, he deserves a strong car,” Gasly expresses a clear opinion about the driver decision of his former team.
A few weeks ago, Red Bull announced a multi-year contract extension with Sergio Perez and the Mexican’s sporting performance promptly plummeted. Is Perez still viable? We asked our Formula 1 expert Christian Danner. He answers these and other questions in the new Q&A video:
Daniel Ricciardo in trouble: Yuki Tsunoda drives great!
Another driver from the Red Bull universe is currently having a tough time competing with Tsunoda. Daniel Ricciardo was actually only supposed to jump into the Racing Bull temporarily so that Red Bull could assess whether he was the stronger man at Max Verstappen’s side than Perez. But the Honey Badger’s performances so far this season do not make him a good fit. In fact, there is a real fear that Ricciardo will not be racing in Formula 1 at all next year.
When asked about the strong performance of his young teammate, who is not exactly considered a super talent, Ricciardo said he was not surprised. “At the moment you can’t underestimate anyone. I’ve been in the sport long enough to know that. Everyone’s level is high. There are no weak teammates anymore. It’s been like that for a while.”
“He’s had a great year. He’s driving really well. It’s, let’s say, a challenge that I’m happy to accept. I’ve certainly had a few more weak weekends than him this year. Of course you try to change that. But I also want to be challenged. Of course I want to see where my potential lies and where I can use it. So I like having someone strong by my side,” said Ricciardo calmly in reference to the comparison with his RB colleague.
The Australian also praised the productive collaboration with Tsunoda: “Technically, his feedback is also good. We have worked very well together this year and are [in unseren Ansichten über das Auto; Anm. d. Red.] definitely got a lot closer. I think that also helped to give the team a clear direction.” Tsunoda is receiving a lot of praise from his teammates. Now all he needs is a place in a top team.