Yuki Tsunoda believes the AlphaTauri F1 team leader role for 2023 will go to Nick de Vries or himself, whichever is faster.
Yuki Tsunoda, who learned the tricks of the job next to Pierre Gasly, is about to enter his third F1 season at AlphaTauri in 2023.
However, Pierre Gasly transferred to the Alpine F1 team. Yuki Tsunoda welcomes new teammate Nick de Vries, an F1 rookie with an impressive resume in Formula E, FIA-F2 and sportscars.
Yuki Tsunoda has been with AlphaTauri F1 for two years, while Red Bull F1 motorsport advisor Helmut Marko is 27-year-old Nick de Marco, who has gained experience in testing and simulator work at Mercedes F1. I still think that Fries will naturally become the leader of the team.
When it was decided that Nick de Vries would join Pierre Guthrie’s successor, Helmut Marko said, “Yuki is young and doesn’t have that kind of experience or background, so Nick will lead the team. It should be,” he said.
“We’ll see what happens next year, but with his experience and personality, he should be the team leader.”
Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri F1’s longest-serving driver, feels he will be given more responsibility and denies that Nick de Vries will automatically assume the leadership role. He pointed out that the fastest driver would be in charge of the team.
Asked about his position within AlphaTauri F1 following the arrival of Nick de Vries, Yuki Tsunoda said: “In any case, I think the faster guy will lead the team.”
“So whether I’m a team leader or not, I just focus on my job and learn a lot and improve.”
“Of course, Pierre is leaving, so I have more responsibility than this year. But I am very confident that I can achieve it. I will come back stronger.”
Yuki Tsunoda’s confidence stems from being able to finish 2022 stronger after a tough year for AlphaTauri, who have slipped to ninth behind Haas F1 Team.
“Overall this season, I think I’ve always done pretty well in every race, I’m pretty happy with this year’s results,” explained 22-year-old Yuki Tsunoda.
“Of course we still need a lot of improvement, especially consistency, but at least we have a clear target for next year.”
“I also want to thank Pierre from the bottom of my heart. I don’t think I could have made this much progress without him over the last two years and I learned a lot from him. It was a pleasure to work with you.”
Category: F1 / Hiroki Tsunoda / Alpha Tauri