Sergio Perez loyalty may force Red Bull driver AWAY from team

Yuki Tsunoda

Perez loyalty may force Red Bull driver AWAY from team

Yuki Tsunoda is hoping to continue his good form, to enable him to pick his next F1 seat after AlphaTauri deal ends

Shay Rogers

Sunday 25 June 2023 20:57

The championship order doesn't give the whole picture away when it comes to the season of Yuki Tsunoda, who is quietly having his most impressive season in F1, despite being restricted by one of the worst performing cars.

The Japanese driver had a slow start to his career, admitting that he wasn't ready for the physicality of the sport, but has since matured to be team leader at AlphaTauri.

Heading into the season, he was under pressure next to rookie teammate Nyck De Vries, with the two thought to be fighting for one seat up for grabs in 2024.

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Tsunoda has firmly hushed his critics, and continued to be a dependable force for the Italian team in one of the toughest times that they have ever experienced.

Tsunoda happy to stay at AlphaTauri "for now"

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Tsunoda discussed the prospect of a Red Bull drive, and what his next steps are as an F1 driver.

"I think Checo has a contract [to the end of] next year, and I guess Red Bull are happy with him. So, for now, I just have to focus on myself and show my value.

"I think time will tell anyway. I think it's good to actually stay for now at AlphaTauri and show my performance to all the teams."

He realises that much like Pierre Gasly, his options may not be limited to within the Red Bull academy as he looks to accelerate his career.

"I don't get to choose what team I want to go to or what things I want to do in Formula One yet, I think Red Bull will still get to choose, so I want to get to a point as a driver where I get to choose.

"Obviously I want to go to a team that I know, based on the last few years, has been consistently high." he concluded.

With just a week to go until Formula One returns to Europe, AlphaTauri will be hoping to extract more from their package, to help give Tsunoda the opportunity to score more points and lift them off the bottom of the constructors standings.