Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has recalled the immediate impact Yuki Tsunoda made on him after he was confirmed at AlphaTauri for 2021.
The 20-year-old is the first driver born in the 21st Century to step onto the Formula 1 grid and will do so after a rapid rise up the ranks with just a single year in both F3 and F2.
In that time, however, Tsunoda has been impressive, claiming third in this year’s F2 championship despite some poor luck, and he was unsurprisingly thrilled when his promotion next to Pierre Gasly was announced.
“Like most racing drivers, it has always been my goal to race in Formula 1, so I am very happy with this news,” he said.
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“I want to thank Scuderia AlphaTauri, Red Bull and Dr. Marko for giving me this opportunity, and of course everyone from Honda, for all their support so far in my career, giving me great opportunities to race in Europe.
“I must also thank the teams that I have raced with to get to this point, particularly Carlin, with whom I have learned so much this year. I realise that I will be carrying the hopes of a lot of Japanese F1 fans next year and I will be doing my best for them too.”
Indeed, Tsunoda becomes the first Japanese driver on the grid since Kamui Kobayashi at Caterham in 2014.
And despite only spending two years in Europe, Red Bull’s Marko explained why Yuki stood out.
“We brought him to Europe for a test in Budapest with a Formula 3 car from a German team and he immediately convinced us, having a fast speed and also being super fast in the turns, we knew he was our man,” said the Austrian.
“He has amazing manoeuvres for overtaking and he proved so in the last two Formula 2 races.
“This means he has an amazing speed, he is a small but smart driver, and besides his talent being a good driver, he also has good charisma which will influence the whole of Formula 1 but, of course, also Japan.”
The day before his confirmation at AlphaTauri, Tsunoda drove for the team in the young driver test in Abu Dhabi, completing 127 laps.
And the 20-year-old admitted surprise at how much faster this year’s car was compared to his only other past F1 experience in two-year-old machinery at Imola last month.
“I had more track time today than when I tried a Formula 1 car for the first time in November and I must admit I feel a bit tired now at the end of the day,” commented Tsunoda. “But it was a very enjoyable experience.
“When I last drove in Imola it was a 2018 car, so I was surprised at the increase in power and downforce from the current car.
“However, the experience from my drive in Imola was definitely a useful starting point for today.
“There were quite a few aspects that felt new to me and during the session I worked on dealing with these and continuously improving throughout the day. I learned a lot and have made progress with my driving.
“The off-season starts tomorrow, and I have a training programme planned to make sure I am always stronger and fitter, but I will also enjoy some days at home in Japan, to fully recharge batteries.”