F1 News
'I feel like I can do anything I want and that gives me freedom'
- GPblog.com
After Kamui Kobayashi, it seems that Japan finally has another driver in Formula 1 to be proud of. Yuki Tsunoda was welcomed with much fanfare to the AlphaTauri team this year, where expectations for him are high. Although the young Japanese driver has shown that he has sufficient talent, he will have to take the wild edge off first.
Victory
Tsunoda made some mistakes at Imola, a track that with its gravel beds instantly punishes drivers mistakes. Something Helmut Marko was not happy about. Speaking to Crash.net Tsunoda commented on what expectations we may have of him this season: "At the moment I'm not thinking too much about becoming world champion or winning a race. I'm really just concentrating on each session individually. That makes me mentally more able to focus on driving in the session."
Still, the AlphaTauri driver will secretly dream of a win. After all, that would be a one-off. "If I get a win this season, the first win for a Japanese driver, that would be very good. It would be really great for me. Most Japanese motorsport fans are waiting for that."
Time
In any case, it is clear that he will be given all the time and space he needs from Red Bull Racing's subsidiary team to develop: "Even Franz [Tost] said to me, 'Do what you want when you drive and try to experience a lot. Even if you have mistakes, it doesn't matter, just try to improve from there.' For me, that helps a lot with my mental side. I now feel like I can do anything I want when I ride and that gives me freedom."