Tsunoda seals 2021 move to F1 with Scuderia AlphaTauri
Scuderia AlphaTauri have this morning announced Yuki Tsunoda will partner Pierre Gasly for the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
Following an eye catching rookie season in FIA Formula 2, with seven podiums, two Feature Race victories and a Sprint Race win, the young Japanese driver has now been confirmed in the seat he has been hotly tipped to take throughout the later half of the Formula 1 campaign.
Yuki is part of both the Red Bull Junior Team and the Honda’s Young Driver Programme and finished third in this year’s FIA Formula 2 Championship driving for Carlin. That result plus the miles he clocked in during a mid-season run out in Imola see’s the 20-year-old from Kanagawa, Japan, qualifying for a FIA Formula 1 Super License.
All of this planning and preparation has given the team the option to take on the driver for next season. All Yuki needed to do was finish the season well and collect the required points. Franz Tost and the Red Bull Racing team have all been impressed with his accent this year;
“Red Bull has been following Yuki’s career for a while now and I am sure he will be a great asset to our team. Watching him in Formula 2 this year, he has demonstrated the right mix of racing aggression and good technical understanding. During the test in Imola in November when he drove our 2018 car, his lap times were very consistent over a race simulation, he progressed throughout the day and gave our engineers useful feedback. In addition, his integration with the Honda engineers has been seamless, which certainly helps. At the test in Abu Dhabi this week, he proved to be a fast learner and that he is ready to make the step to Formula One.” stated Tost.
Yuki Tsunoda, himself, has had a rapid climb through from F4, F3 and now progression though F2 in back-to-back years. Making the move to F1 will not only be a dream come true for him but also for the passionate Japanese race fans. The Driver said;
“Like most racing drivers, it has always been my goal to race in Formula 1, so I am very happy with this news. 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.”
Big congrats to Yuki and we at InsideF2.com will be watching his progress next year in the F1.
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Image Credit: © Red Bull content Pool
