AlphaTauri team boss Franz Tost always says that you should give a rookie in Formula 1 three years until he really has arrived. Yuki Tsunoda is now in his third year and the Japanese seems to be performing as expected.
Ahead of the season there was a lot of talk about who would have the leadership role at AlphaTauri and the pendulum swung more towards Nyck de Vries despite being a rookie despite being 28 years old. But Tsunoda has the Dutchman absolutely under control so far: He leads in the qualifying duels with 4:1, in the race duels even with 5:0.
On Sunday in particular he has been the embodiment of consistency so far and finished tenth or eleventh in all five Grands Prix. It seems that Tsunoda would be comfortable now – and in 2022 that was often not the case, as he admits in retrospect.
Because the situation there with his uncertain future made him very difficult: “I didn’t have a contract for a long time, and between Azerbaijan and Japan I was distracted by many things, such as the contract matter,” he says. “At that moment I forgot to enjoy Formula 1.”
“I just had the feeling that I would only drive for the team to get a new contract – and it shouldn’t be like that,” says the Japanese. “If I had a good result in the first half of the season then I enjoyed the moment because it felt like the most important thing to me.”
Tsunoda says how much the whole issue took him: “When the team didn’t announce my contract, I didn’t know what was going on. I had no control at all,” he says. “That’s why I didn’t feel good mentally and I didn’t sleep well most nights.”
And of course this mental stress and tiredness would not have helped the race performance either. Tsunoda says, “Something had to change.”
2023 must not be like 2022
Because he knows that if he doesn’t perform in 2023, it will be his past year in Formula 1, also because Ayumu Iwasa, a compatriot in Formula 2, is pushing up.
“In every race over the past year, I had the feeling that I could have done better – especially in qualifying. And especially in your third year, anything can happen. And if you keep going like this, then you’ll be rid of your cockpit,” says he. “But I was able to think about what Formula 1 and motorsport mean to me.”
With the help of Mario Miyakawa, Tsunoda was able to change his mindset and refocus on what he enjoys. “Thanks to Mario, I don’t have to worry about anything anymore. My job is simple, driving fast and bringing in results.”
“I just want to have fun and do my best,” says Tsunoda, “and if I still lose my place, at least I did my best in every race. And that helps.”
Tsunoda doesn’t want to have any regrets
Tsunoda doesn’t want to be someone who looks back on his career and then regrets that he didn’t always give it his all. “And that attitude makes me stronger,” he says. “I’m just trying to be as relaxed and comfortable as possible, but at the same time doing things that I enjoy and get me to perform well.”
And that seems to work in 2023. Tsunoda is clearly the team leader at the moment and is having fun even if he’s just chasing tenth place. Because that doesn’t bother him: “I find it pretty exciting because there are only two places in the points that we can fight for,” he says.
“And those two positions, ninth and tenth, are worth a lot more to the midfield teams than last year,” Tsunoda said. “A point or two doesn’t sound like much, but it means a lot to the team.”
And they can help Tsunoda prolong his career in Formula 1.