Talent to swear by
CAN YUKI TSUNODA BECOME THE first Japanese driver to score a grand prix victory? That’s certainly the view of his main backers, and if he continues on his planned progression and eventually joins Red Bull Racing, the opportunity to win races will be there.
Tsunoda has already made a little bit of history by becoming the first driver born in the 2000s to make it to F1. It’s been far from an easy transition with AlphaTauri - incidents and colourful radio messages have attracted as much attention as his pace - but those who know him well agree that he is a fast learner, and he will get there.
“He had a stupid mistake in Imola,” says his number one supporter, Dr Helmut Marko. “Now he is a little bit more careful. We are fine with him. Progress is as planned.”
“He coped with every situation we threw at him,” says his 2020 F2 team boss Trevor Carlin. “He’ll invariably lose a few front wings in the first few races, because you’ve got to adjust to the car, and he will be pushing. But once he’s got through that phase, he’ll be very hard to beat.”
Tsunoda’s interest in cars was inherited from his father, who worked in insurance. In 2007 the family went to the Japanese GP, where
