It’s set to be a special weekend at the Japanese Grand Prix for home hero Yuki Tsunoda and his army of fans.
AlphaTauri are expected to confirm the 23-year-old for the 2024 F1 season ahead of the action ahead of the weekend’s action at the iconic Suzuka circuit. Daniel Ricciardo is expected to keep the other seat, but that will not be announced this weekend.
Tsunoda joined the F1 grid in 2021 as he impressed during his one and only season in Formula 2 back in 2020.
However, his first campaign in the biggest Motorsport category was pretty close to a disaster. He struggled to get near teammate Pierre Gasly and made a number of errors during it as well. Tsunoda did end the season very positively, though, as he finished a superb P4 in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Since that tough rookie season, he’s come on leaps and bounds. He reduced the gap massively to Gasly last year, losing out 9-13 in qualifying compared to 1-21 the year before.
A 78-point gap in the Drivers’ Championship in 2021 was slashed to 11 last year.
This year, he’s taken on the role of team leader. Although AlphaTauri have been struggling to score points this season, he blew away Nyck de Vries and it forced Red Bull to sack the Dutchman.
A point in Spa means he outscored Daniel Ricciardo so far when they have been teammates.
Shocking luck at Monza (DNS) and Singapore (taken out on lap one), combined with a bizarre strategy by his team at Zandvoort when running a very strong race in the points, has made it hard to read how he’s faring against Liam Lawson.
Next year will be absolutely vital for the Japanese driver as he looks to secure a long-term place on the grid, whether that is inside or outside the Red Bull family.
Photo credit: Red Bull Content Pool
