Yuki Tsunoda

Yuki Tsunoda - Scuderia AlphaTauri F1 Driver

Yuki Tsunoda Career Overview and Fast Links

• Career Overview

• Pre-F1 Career

• F1 AlphaTauri (2021, 2022)

• Fast Facts

Yuki Tsunoda F1 Career Overview

Yuki Tsunoda will continue with Scuderia AlphaTauri in the 2022 F1 World Championship.

In what has been a rapid rise through the ranks for the Japanese racer, Tsunoda was the first driver from his nation since 2014 to compete in the top flight when Kamui Kobayashi raced with Caterham. 

As well as being one of the youngest drivers to start an F1 race (20 years, 10 months and 17 days), he is also the first person born in the 21st century to do so.

Yuki Tsunoda - Route to F1

Tsunoda makes his F1 debut with AlphaTauri - Red Bull’s so-called ‘B Team’ - after only two seasons of competing on European soil, in so doing becoming the 15th driver to reach the pinnacle of the sport via the Red Bull Junior Team. 

Beginning his career on the Japanese domestic scene, Tsunoda sailed through the JAF Junior Karting Championship ranks prior to making his ‘winged’ car racing debut in the Japanese Formula 4 Championship in 2016 with backing from Honda, who initiated him into its feeder ‘Dream Project’ development programme.

F3

Going on to take the title in 2018 for ‘Honda’ with seven wins from 14 races, Tsunoda was invited to Europe to compete on the F1-supporting FIA Formula 3 Championship with Swiss-outfit Jenzer Motorsport in 2019.

With Honda’s new association with Red Bull in F1 enabling Tsunoda to be incorporated into the outfit’s Junior Team too, brandishing the distinctive colours of the Austrian company, he shrugged off a slow start to emerge as a front-runner towards the conclusion of the year, picking up three podiums, including a maiden win at Monza, en route to ninth overall.

He also took in rounds of the pan-European Euroformula Open Championship with Motopark driving the more traditional two-litre Dallara car. He scored a win at Hockenheim and six podiums, finishing fourth overall despite missing two events.

F2

Ending the year ninth overall, Tsunoda was promoted to the FIA Formula 2 Championship for 2020 with Carlin and emerged as a surprise title contender in his rookie campaign, landing a podium in only his third start before claiming a victory at Silverstone. He followed it up with two more wins at Spa and in the season-ending Bahrain race.

Coupled with three other podiums and strong finishes elsewhere, Tsunoda beat a number of highly-rated fellow rookies - including F3 Champion Robert Shwartzman - to clinch third in the standings. Ending up only 15 points shy of title-winner Mick Schumacher, Tsunoda also achieved four pole positions - more than any other driver - and came close to a rare double victory in the last round of the season after recovering to finish second from eighth on the grid.

With Tsunoda counting Max Verstappen as a fan, the youngster’s form would catch the eye of Red Bull and with Honda eager for one of its development drivers to break through despite its impending exit from F1 - after Nobuharu Matsushita and Nikei Fukuzuma failed to impress in previous years - started being primed for a promotion by mid-season. 

Needing to finish top three overall to secure the Superlicence points required to compete in F1, with Red Bull settin this target to ensure his route to F1, Tsunoda was subsequently confirmed to be joining AlphaTauri for the 2021 F1 season.

After scoring points on his F1 debut at the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix, much was expected from Tsunoda in the remaining 21 races.

Frequent crashes and a general lack of pace meant Tsunoda scored points just seven times in 22 races.

While his points scoring was poor, Tsunoda seemed to find a breakthrough in the closing rounds, regularly making it into Q3.

If he continues to improve then Tsunoda shouldn't be worried about his future beyond 2022.

Yuki Tsunoda Fast Facts

• Yuki Tsunoda made his first appearance in F1 machinery in a 2018-spec Toro Rosso STR14 in 2020 at Imola before making his current-spec debut in the post-season at the post-Abu Dhabi GP rookie test in December 2020

• He will compete with No.22, previously used by 2009 F1 World Champion Jenson Button

• As the highest-placed rookie in the 2020 F2 Championship, Tsunoda was awarded the Anthoine Hubert Award

• He is the already the ninth driver to be promoted from F2 (which was rebranded from GP2 in 2017) and the second by Red Bull/AlphaTauri after Alex Albon