Yuki Tsunoda arrived in Formula 1 as a rapid yet of of control Red Bull youngster. But he has since matured into one of the most consistent and impressive performers on the grid for Racing Bulls, and his eyes are seemingly set on a seat next to Max Verstappen.
Early career in Japan
Beginning his career in karting in 2010, Tsunoda raced in the JAF Junior Karting Championship and by 2014 had made it to the national class. His rapid ascension earned him a Japanese Formula 4 drive for two races in 2016. He earned his first podium in his maiden race in the series and followed it up with fourth. It was in 2016 when Tsunoda was signed to the Honda Formula Dream Project, the company’s driver development programme.
He followed that up by taking the 2017 Japanese F4 East title and finishing third in the national series before claiming the national title in 2018 with seven wins and 11 podium finishes.
Arrival in Europe
Tsunoda moved across to the Euro Formula 3 championship as well as the Euroformula Open series with backing from Red Bull.
He scored two race victories and nine podiums across both series’ in 2019, and was announced as a Carlin F2 driver for the 2020 season.
In Formula 2, Tsunoda put together one of his finest seasons to date to earn three race victories, seven podiums and four pole positions and finished third in the standings in his debut season.
Graduation to F1 with AlphaTauri
Alongside his 2019 F2 duties, Tsunoda also tested for the AlphaTauri F1 team on two occasions, fuelling speculation that he was to be promoted into the junior team the following year.
The 20-year-old was announced as an AlphaTauri driver after the end of the 2020 season, replacing Daniil Kvyat at the team alongside Pierre Gasly.
Tsunoda’s maiden F1 season was difficult as the Japanese driver struggled to adapt to the series. His season kicked off with an impressive points finish at the Bahrain Grand Prix but quickly fell apart, crashing in several practice and qualifying sessions, only returning to the points in round six in Azerbaijan. Team principal Franz Tost moved him to Italy and closer to the team’s Faenza factory to keep closer tabs on Tsunoda and improve his focus. Just five points finishes followed for the remainder of the season.
In 2022, despite major regulation changes, Tsunoda’s pace continued to impress but his performances were often undone by more critical crashes. An eighth-place finish at the opening round of the season in Bahrain was bettered three races later in Imola, as Tsunoda met the chequered flag in seventh. The Japanese driver looked to finally mastered the ability of staying on track, but in the second half of the season, it all unraveled. Five DNF’s in 14 races saw Tsunoda slump to 17th in the drivers’ standings — 11 points behind team-mate Gasly.
Major changes for 2023 suddenly saw Tsunoda become AlphaTauri’s on-track leader, as Gasly departed to Alpine and Nyck de Vries was fielded as his replacement. The threat of another young driver alongside him seemed to spur Tsunoda on, as he finished no lower than eleventh through the first five races of the season, while De Vries finished no higher than 14th.
While Tsunoda was given multiple team-mates over the course of the season — with Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson both having stints in the other AlphaTauri seat — the Japanese driver’s form continued to improve for much of the rest of the season, with highlights including eighth-place finishes at COTA and Abu Dhabi and a ninth-place finish in Brazil.
In 2024, Tsunoda made a leap forward in personal performance, scoring points on nine separate occassions, finishing inside the top seven in Australia, Miami and Sao Paulo and securing 12th in the drivers’ standings. His efforts put RB (previously known as AlphaTauri) in contention for sixth in the constructors’ standings — while Lawson took over from Ricciardo, again, mid-season — and also turned the heads of Christian Horner and Helmut Marko, who seriously considered Tsunoda for a seat at Red Bull for 2025.
But the nod was ultimately given to Lawson, who will partner Max Verstappen in 2025 while Tsunoda will remain at Racing Bulls — racing alongside his fourth new team-mate in two years: Isack Hadjar.
In 2022, Tsunoda improved, despite being hampered by the performance of his AlphaTauri. Failure to adapt to new technical regulations put his team on the back foot to start the season, but despite his lack of experience, Tsunoda showed a heightened level of maturity in 2022.
His biggest points haul came at Imola, where the Japanese secured seventh ahead of teammate Gasly and the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. Poor reliability and misfortune kept Tsunoda from scoring additional points, ending the season in 17th in the drivers’ standings’.
Following Gasly’s departure to Alpine for 2023, Tsunoda will join forces with former Formula E champion and Mercedes reserve driver Nyck de Vries in a new era for AlphaTauri.
