Actually, Formula 1 driver Yuki Tsunoda was almost certain that he would be able to drive for AlphaTauri next year. However, statements from the new CEO now lead to a completely different conclusion.
If outgoing AlphaTauri team boss Franz Tost has his way, Yuki Tsunoda is one of the two drivers for 2024. “I definitely see Yuki Tsunoda in our team next year,” said the 67-year-old on “Sky” at the beginning of September “. It is “more or less” certain that the Japanese will keep his place in the grid.
That means: Only the question of the second cockpit, which after the dismissal of Nyck de Vries will be occupied by Daniel Ricciardo until the end of the season – or until Liam Lawson recovers from a hand injury – still needs to be clarified at AlphaTauri.
The new team CEO Peter Bayer, who, together with Laurent Mekies, is taking over from Franz Tost, who is leaving at the end of the season, chose completely different words with regard to the driver distribution around the Italian Grand Prix.
The racing team has a responsibility to continue to support young drivers in the Red Bull cosmos in the future. However, AlphaTauri does not want to rely solely on young talent. “I believe that not only can we develop young drivers, but we also have to be competitive,” he told PlanetF1.com.
Praise for Ricciardo and Lawson – What will happen to Tsunoda?
Therefore, the continued employment of Daniel Ricciardo in particular is currently given higher priority. The Australian would then be given a young driver to work alongside. “I want to try to have an experienced and a young driver. Then the young one learns from the experienced one and the experienced one helps us – and Daniel, for example, helped us a lot with the set-up of the car,” explained Bayer.
This would mean that the chair of 23-year-old Yuki Tsunoda, who was only able to score three points in 2023, is shaking. Liam Lawson, who stepped in for Daniel Ricciardo at Zandvoort at short notice and finished 13th ahead of Yuki Tsunoda in difficult conditions and narrowly missed the points in eleventh in Italy, now represents serious competition.
Peter Bayer also raved about the New Zealander’s recent achievements: “Honestly, what I really like about Liam is how professional he approaches the task and he is very calm in the car. He gets feedback from the engineers, lap after lap He’s improving this round. That’s really impressive.”