How will Yuki Tsunoda fare in a front-running car? The young Red Bull driver gives his take

Yuki Tsunoda feels ready for a top team and feels he has improved compared to last year. Speaking in a press conference ahead of the Azerbaijan GP, the AlphaTauri driver agreed with his boss Franz Tost, who had suggested that the Japanese driver will be ready for a top team drive by 2025.

Asked by Sportskeeda how he would perform in a top team now, Yuki Tsunoda replied:

“Yeah, I saw that, and yeah, but to be honest, I'm really focusing on what we have now in the AlphaTauri. I think there's still a lot of things to work on.

"Obviously, I'm happy to hear from him, especially positive things, I guess. I mean, being a Formula 1 driver, you have to be ready, always, when you have the call from a top team. We have to be ready. I think, in the end, everyone’s ready, just how much we can extract from yourself, every race.

"So, I’m feeling ready, but at the same time, first of all, I need to improve myself more. And I know the current clear target for this year as a team, and also for myself. So, continue this momentum, like I have the last three races, probably even more. And first of all, I just want to make him happy at the end of the season.

"To say thank you to him and, at the same time, definitely we want to finish in a positive way definitely even compared last year.”

Tost suggested that Yuki Tsunoda will be ready for a Red Bull or top team drive by 2025. The young Japanese driver was grateful for the outgoing AlphaTauri principal’s contribution to his career and growth curve.

Evaluating his own performance and ability to perform with a top team, the 22-year-old feels he is confident to perform well if put in a top team car now. After two seasons with AlphaTauri as a Red Bull junior, the Japanese driver has improved in 2023 and has been able to outperform his teammate and Formula E champion Nyck De Vries in the first three races.

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Yuki Tsunoda was surprised by Franz Tost's decision to leave AlphaTauri

Surprised about Tost departing the Red Bull junior team, Yuki Tsunoda claimed he was unaware of the development despite the rumors and speculation. The Japanese driver wants to make the departing team principal happy with a good result in the next 19 races of the 2023 season.

Asked about Tost’s departure and his feelings about it, Yuki Tsunoda said:

“Yeah, it was really surprising news for me. I had, like, lunch with him, like, five days before the news or something like that. And actually he didn't mention about those things. So yeah, I was surprised.

"At the same time, kind of, there was already kinds of rumours from the beginning of the season. So it actually it came true that he's stepping down. But still, there's 19 races to go to make him happy. Hopefully we can end the season in a positive way for him.

"To do that, obviously, we need a lot of development we need to do but yeah, we have an aggressive plan to do it. And looking forward to it. And at the same time feeling really kind of appreciative to him that he trusted my speed the last three years. And he was always supportive next to me. So yeah, I’ll try to make it up for him the next races.”

Since his induction into the AlphaTauri F1 team, Tost has shown great confidence in Yuki Tsunoda and his competence to perform. The Alpha Tauri boss contributed significantly towards the 22-year-old’s growth and evolution as a driver.

Responsible for grooming Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo and many other Red Bull junior program graduates, Tost has always been known to be the perfect mentor to groom rookies in the sport.