In the fifth season of Formula 1: Drive to Survive, Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri’s driver, gets ready to bid goodbye to his teammate, Pierre Gasly, which will bring a new set of challenges for him in the next season. The docuseries is now streaming on Netflix.
In the fifth season of Formula 1: Drive to Survive, Scuderia AlphaTauri’s young driver in the Formula One World Championship, Yuki Tsunoda, certainly leaves an impression.
He was the 2018 Japanese F4 champion, and he made his Formula 1 debut in 2021. Before that, in 2020, he drove for AlphaTauri in the rookie test.
Yuki Tsunoda’s performance in the 2022 season
Tsunoda is a good driver. However, he is described as fast but wild at the same time; he has no filter when he is driving. Tsunoda acknowledges that his driving is aggressive and that he is confident in overtaking his opponents.
Franz Tost, the team principal, claims that Tsunoda can be too impatient at times, which results in him making mistakes. These mistakes disappoint the young driver.
In the 2022 season, Tsunoda gave one of his best performances at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, where he finished the race in the 7th position. At the Spanish Grand Prix, he finished 10th, scoring points for the team.
Tsunoda especially wanted to score points for the team at Suzuka at the Japanese Grand Prix. Tsunoda is extremely popular there among the fans, and there is a lot of pressure on him to perform.
However, due to the rain, the conditions on the track are not so favorable for the drivers. The rain makes the race dangerous and difficult, with almost zero visibility. Tsunoda starts in the 13th position.
During the race, his teammate, Pierre Gasly, hits debris from a crash and has to get his tires changed, which increases the pressure on Tsunoda to score points. However, Tsunoda cannot do much and comes 13th in the race.
Then, at the United States Grand Prix, he performs well and finally scores points. Despite starting at number 19th, he finishes in the 10th position.
In 2021, he finished the season in 14th place in the championship, but in the 2022 season, he finishes in 17th place. Tsunoda believes that he has progressed since the last season, but he needs to learn to be more consistent in terms of results.
The impact of Gasly’s departure
Tsunoda shares a great relationship with his teammate Pierre Gasly. The two men see each other as brothers, as Gasly has supported Tsunoda since the time he joined the team.
Tsunoda believes he still has a lot to learn from Gasly, but Gasly decides to leave AlphaTauri after 2022 and drive for Alpine in the 2023 season.
With Gasly leaving, Tsunoda will not only need to learn to be on his own, but he will also have to perform better for the team.
AlphaTauri brings in Nyck de Vries as his replacement, which means Tsunoda will no longer have the support that Gasly provided. Instead, he will have someone constantly competing with him.
In Formula 1: Drive to Survive, Tsunoda claimed that he is ready to lead the team, but Tost said that it has not been decided yet who will be the lead driver out of the two drivers.
In the 2023 season, Tsunoda will be seen driving for AlphaTauri alongside his new teammate, Nyck de Vries. It will be exciting to see Tsunoda’s partnership with him in comparison to his former partnership with Gasly.
Also Read: Kevin Magnussen’s return in Formula 1: Drive to Survive season 5 explained