Tsunoda best F1 rookie in years, says Brawn Formula One's motorsport managing director Ross Brawn has hailed Yuki Tsunoda as the best rookie in years after the Japanese scored points on his debut in Bahrain last Sunday. The former Ferrari technical director who also ran the Honda, Brawn and Mercedes teams, said he had been impressed by the 20-year-old AlphaTauri driver's "brilliant spells" in the season-opener. "He is the best rookie F1 has had for years, having been fairly stunning in whatever series he has competed in," said the Briton in a column for the F1.com. "His promotion by Red Bull looks like a brilliant move. We can all remember the glorious days of full grandstands at Suzuka and the passion of the Japanese fans. "I think we are going to have that again, which is incredibly exciting."
Red Bull won't "burn" rough diamond Tsunoda in F1 - https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/red-bull-wont-burn-rough-diamond-tsunoda-in-f1/6060146/ By: Jonathan Noble Co-author: Christian Nimmervoll Red Bull insists it will not ‘burn’ Yuki Tsunoda by promoting him from AlphaTauri too quickly, despite his impressive Formula 1 debut. Image Unavailable, Please Login The Japanese youngster marked himself out as a future star with a great showing at last weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix. He set the second fastest time in Q1 and finished the race in ninth place, having pulled off a great overtaking move on Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll on the final lap. Tsunoda’s pace and the hype surrounding him has already prompted suggestions he could be in the frame to step up to the main Red Bull team from 2022. However, Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has urged caution about such talk, despite clearly believing that Tsunoda has a bright future. Marko remains well aware of the fact that Daniil Kvyat, Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon have all failed to reach their full potential at Red Bull after being promoted and there is a sense to not rush things this time. In an exclusive interview with Autosport’s German language sister site Formel1.de, Marko praised the impact that Tsunoda had made but said Red Bull was ready to be patient. “The way he goes about it, the way he makes the car fly [is fantastic],” Marko said about Tsunoda. “He's also a charismatic, funny guy. We are very happy to have him.” Asked about the prospect of a 2022 drive at Red Bull, he replied: “We’ve had the first of 23 races, so let's see how things develop. “We have an incredible rough diamond in Yuki. We're not going to burn him. We will look at the development and then make our decisions in a timely manner.” Image Unavailable, Please Login Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri AT02 and Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR21 Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images A move to Red Bull for Tsunoda would be bad news for Sergio Perez, who is currently on a one-year deal to drive for Red Bull this season. The Mexican had a mixed weekend in Bahrain, after getting dumped out of qualifying in Q2 before recovering well in the race to take fifth place. Tsunoda “wouldn’t sleep” if he hadn’t attacked Stroll on last lap Marko said that in terms of race pace there were no concerns about Perez, but the key for him now was putting a lap together in qualifying. “The race speed is on the same level as Verstappen,” said Marko. “When he was in free air, he set the same times, so, so far, so good. Unfortunately, it wasn't like that in qualifying. “The positive thing was that he lost most of his time in one turn, Turn 1. Already during testing, in sector three, he was faster than Max on average. The only issue is: you have to get the lap together. “But we are convinced that he will get much closer to Max in qualifying as well.”
We need to see him in more than one F1 race. A promotion is good, but not sure about teaming with Max.
I think both RB newbies did great on their debut race; both Perez & Tsunoda drove home solid results from compromised starts for both their teams...kinda silly for anyone to say Perez needs to be replaced alrdy if you ask me.
We will see what Herr Marko thinks about Tsunoda in a few more races. Helmut is the acting grim reaper in the Red Bull empire.
The trait that has helped Tsunoda shine in F1 so far By: Jamie Klein Apr 4, 2021, 11:59 AM AlphaTauri Formula 1 rookie Yuki Tsunoda’s relaxed attitude towards making mistakes is his “big strength” according to former Formula 2 rival Nobuharu Matsushita. Image Unavailable, Please Login Honda-backed Tsunoda ended the seven-year wait for a full-time Japanese grand prix driver by securing a seat at AlphaTauri alongside Pierre Gasly for 2021, earning plaudits for his performances in pre-season testing and the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. The 20-year-old finished ninth in Bahrain to become the first Japanese driver ever to earn points on his debut. Ex-Honda junior Matsushita, who raced against Tsunoda in F2 last year as the latter fought for the title at Carlin, tipped his compatriot to have an “amazing” debut season, highlighting the strong point that allowed him to succeed in the feeder series where he failed. “I think Tsunoda’s good point is he doesn’t care,” Matsushita told Autosport. “If he makes a mistake, he just moves onto the next one. This is really important. “Every time you make a mistake, most people think, ‘next time, I cannot make a mistake’. But he just says, ‘I made a mistake, I learned’ and moves on. That’s his big strength. “AlphaTauri is quite competitive, easily good enough for the top 10, so I think he’s going to have an amazing season. And I know how quick Gasly is, I raced with him [in 2015 and 2016] in GP2. Let’s see what Tsunoda can do against him. I’m really excited to see.” Matsushita also remarked how rapidly Tsunoda progressed since his first season in Europe in 2019, when he undertook dual campaigns in FIA F3 and Euroformula Open. Image Unavailable, Please Login Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri AT02 Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images “In 2019 he was doing F3 and that was the first time I met him,” said Matsushita. “We did a race together in Euroformula Open [at the Hungaroring]. That time he was not that competitive, did quite a lot of mistakes. “But I think last year working with Carlin he improved a lot and he became much calmer. “In qualifying there’s no doubt he can be quick. In the races he was often kind of conservative in the beginning, and then pushing at the end because he still has the tyre. “In F1 you have to be aggressive immediately from the start. That’s the thing he needs to improve. But I think he can do it.” https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/the-trait-that-has-helped-tsunoda-shine-in-f1-so-far/6077217/
Overhyped beyond believe, he has done absolutely nothing yet. Best rookie in years? Leclerc was a rookie like only 3 years ago, gimme a break. I'm sure his nationality and the market that comes with it has absolutely nothing to do with this overhyping.
Might be premature to judge after just one race... specially in F1 where a result is influenced by so many factors apart from the driver. If one wants to see a truly impressive rookie, look at Jorge Martin in Moto GP.
Go Yuki!!! Tsunoda already contributing to AlphaTauri F1 car development By: Luke Smith Co-author: Oleg Karpov Apr 13, 2021, 9:20 AM Formula 1 rookie Yuki Tsunoda is already making a valuable contribution to AlphaTauri's car development by raising new questions and ideas, according to technical chief Jody Egginton. https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/tsunoda-already-contributing-to-alphatauri-f1-car-development/6240044/ Tsunoda became the latest member of Red Bull's young driver programme to reach F1 after making his grand prix debut in Bahrain at the end of last month, moving up from Formula 2. Tsunoda impressed in his first race, charging through to ninth place to score two points for AlphaTauri with a series of impressive overtakes. The team has previously spoken about the important role Tsunoda's teammate, Pierre Gasly, will play through 2021, leading its development direction thanks to his greater F1 experience. AlphaTauri technical director Egginton said the balance of one experienced driver and one rookie left the team in a "different scenario" to many of its rivals, but that Tsunoda was already complementing Gasly well. "Pierre is a solid reference back to last year, and he's able to tell us in detail what's changed, what's better, what's worse, so that's good," Egginton said. "That combined with the correlation, it helps us potentially answer some of the questions Yuki might have. Because we'll say, 'okay, that's expected, that's not expected, we're going to work on this.' So it steadies the ship a little bit. "At the same time, [Tsunoda is] also raising some questions, which are [like] 'OK, that's quite an interesting thought'. The way he drives the car is a little bit different to Pierre and that opens up some other questions. "So it's a bit of a mix, really. The key point is that he's got the speed, and he has got the speed, to be able to contribute." Tsunoda has enjoyed an accelerated rise through the ranks to reach F1, having been racing in Japan's national F4 championship just three years ago. An impressive rookie season in F2 last year saw Tsunoda finish third in the championship and earn an F1 graduation that was aided by an extensive private testing programme. Egginton was impressed by how Tsunoda took minor setbacks across his maiden grand prix weekend in his stride, proving his adaptability and willingness to learn. "His speed was not in doubt from F2," Egginton said. "He deserves this shot. He's on a very steep learning curve, as with any young driver is coming into the Formula 1 world, but he's taking it step by step. "He's absorbing a lot of information, and he's communicating well, and we're understanding what he wants from the car. He's working well with an engineering team. He's a quick learner.
No rule in hating drivers (as long as we don't delve into P&R) but which driver is molestor? Not talking as a mod either, just genuinely curious.
I ASSUME he is still referring to the Mazepin video with the instagram model.... I, on the other hand, was just starting trouble...... Kevin
I didn't mention about hate anywhere in my sentence. I do not know any of the drivers to personally hate them. Hate is a very powerful word.