The news that Yuki Tsunoda will remain with AlphaTauri F1 in 2023 was one of the most anticipated announcements in the ‘silly season’ of the F1 driver market.
Scuderia AlphaTauri F1 team principal Franz Tost has hinted several times that Yuki Tsunoda plans to stay with Pierre Gasly, who was announced to stay in June, but Red Bull approves. I was waiting.
A few weeks ago, Yuki Tsunoda said his future rested on “what’s behind the scenes” and that he was happy with his performance despite the lack of results this year.
Yuki Tsunoda hasn’t scored a point since the F1 Spanish Grand Prix, but AlphaTauri F1 as a whole is struggling in the midfield, which is more crowded than a year ago.
As it stands, AlphaTauri F1 is locked into an unchanged line-up of Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly for 2023, though that might change.
The Alpine F1 team is known to have Pierre Gasly at the top of its shortlist to fill the seat left by Fernando Alonso.
In order for Pierre Gasly to transfer to the Alpine F1 team, it is a condition that a replacement driver for Alpha Tauri F1 can be found.
Red Bull had plans to draft Colton Herta from IndyCar, but that was canceled following the FIA refused to issue a special F1 super licence.
However, it was revealed last weekend that Red Bull F1 motorsport adviser Helmut Marko had met with Nick de Vries, leaving the possibility of a move for Pierre Gasly still open.
If Pierre Gasly leaves, Yuki Tsunoda will become an experienced driver and de facto team leader at AlphaTauri F1 in 2023.
But Yuki Tsunoda’s temperament is often in the news and clearly plays a big role for the still-developing driver.
Yuki Tsunoda has admitted that the work Pierre Gasly is spearheading might be a challenge.
“I don’t expect to be able to show immediate performance or provide feedback to the team as quickly as Pierre,” Yuki Tsunoda said at Zandvoort.
“But right now I am learning as much as possible from him. There is still a lot to learn from him. We just develop the car as much as possible.”
Yuki Tsunoda’s growth has come a long way. Red Bull moved him from England to Italy midway through last season, bringing him closer to his team. It’s a move of such importance that AlphaTauri F1 also mentioned it in their press release announcing him for 2023, looking at his progress since then.
It was a comfortable working environment for Yuki Tsunoda. AlphaTauri F1 is a smaller team with less pressure than Red Bull and other front-running teams. He has a boss, Franz Tost, who knows how to get the most out of his drivers. Then there was Pierre Gasly, a teammate who was not only a role model on the track, but a friendly one off the track as well.
“I think he’s probably taken F1 a little bit more seriously now. It’s the right approach,” Gasly said in an interview before the summer break.
“In that regard, he said, I made an impact by showing the dedication and commitment that the sport requires.”
“This year we’ve worked as a team, but last year we were a little bit divided because we didn’t have a lot of experience. He wasn’t very used to F1 yet.”
“I think this year he has a clear idea and clear feedback on what we really need to be fast and we can work together to improve the package we have.”
This is an improvement that has also been noted by Jody Egginton, technical director of AlphaTauri F1.
“There’s a lot of information that drivers have to understand, but it doesn’t always take hold right away,” said Egginton.
“In a way, just like someone doing a difficult or technical exercise, or even reviewing for an exam, practice makes perfect. A lot of things are going well.”
“Also, he’s forming a better opinion of what he wants from the car. Any driver takes time.”
Yuki Tsunoda also showed a glimpse of his ability in F1. His impressive F1 debut in 2021 in Bahrain and a fourth-place finish in Abu Dhabi may be worth noting. Also, although not reflected in the points, Tsunoda’s performance has taken a step forward in 2022.
At Imola this year he moved up from 16th on the grid to 7th on a track that is difficult to overtake. He’s also closed the points gap to Pierre Gasly compared to last year. Yuki Tsunoda scored 11 points once morest Gasly’s 22 points, but the difference might have been even smaller had there not been machine troubles like in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan.
The big challenge for Yuki Tsunoda will be translating that potential into skills that will help him lead a team should Pierre Gasly leave.
Yuki Tsunoda has won fans around the world with his frank personality. As Pierre Gasly said, ‘whatever comes to his mind, it comes out of his mouth following 0.1 seconds’.
But stepping up to a leading role for AlphaTauri would be an important test for his long-term future at Red Bull.
Franz Tost said in a press release announcing Yuki Tsunoda’s 2023 retirement that he believes it will take three years for the driver to fully adapt.
The apprenticeship will end in 2023.
Category: F1 / Hiroki Tsunoda / Alpha Tauri
