Tost sees Tsunoda “sooner or later” at AlphaTauri

Recruited by the Honda sector in 2017, the Japanese Yuki tsunoda is experiencing a meteoric rise. After a first learning season in Formula 4, in Japan, during which he finished 3rd in the championship, he won the title the following year with 7 victories under his belt. 

Thanks to the links between Red Bull and Honda, he joined the Red Bull Junior Team in 2019 and today drives for the Carlin Motorsport team in Formula 2. After six events full of ups and downs (1 podium in Austria, his only entry into the points so far), the Japanese rookie has raised his level of play since then. Performances that did not go unnoticed.

Franz Tost, main team ofAlpha Tauri, spoke about the young driver last weekend in Barcelona. 

« First of all, Red Bull and Honda support Tsunoda because he is a fantastic driver, confided the Austrian. He is very talented, he showed it last year in Formula 3 (9th in the championship with 1 victory while discovering the European circuits) and it continues its momentum this year (current 4th in the championship with 3 podiums including one victory) ».

The Japanese bluffed Tost on certain occasions and the latter will see him in the seat of one of his single-seaters in the perhaps not so distant future. “ I remember his race in Austria, added the manager. He was leading the race but was unlucky as radio problems caused him to miss his stopping window and he returned to change his tires in the pits too late but he still finished 2nd. And at Silverstone he won. 

He has improved his performance and continues to gain experience. I expect him to end up in the seat of an AlphaTauri sooner or later of course ».

This sounds like a warning for one of the two starters of the Red Bull junior team, but which one? Given the start of the season, we are leaning more towards Daniil Kvyat.

Ousted from Red Bull in 2016 (demoted to Toro Rosso in favor of Max Verstappen) and some F1 before the end of the 2017 season, the Russian made a fairly convincing comeback in 2019 with a podium obtained during a German Grand Prix four. 

But since the Frenchman's return Pierre Gasly, also demoted to Faenza (Italy), Kvyat is having a hard time seeing the light of day, the Russian is generally dominated by his teammate and more particularly in qualifying (6-0). 

His return to the premier category of motorsport actually illustrated the running out of steam in the Red Bull industry because no talent seemed to be emerging. With the rise of Tsunoda, without dismissing the CV of Estonian Jüri Vips who will debut in Formula 2 with DAMS this weekend in Belgium, the winds of change seem about to rise again in Faenza.