Tsunoda showed flashes of speed in 2021, but his rookie season was also marred by several crashes and mistakes, as well as being overshadowed by teammate Pierre Gasly.
Tsunoda turned heads with a ninth place finish on his debut in Bahrain, but then struggled to improve on that result. While Gasly steadily scored points to keep AlphaTauri in contention for fifth place in the constructors’ championship, Tsunoda’s confidence took a hit and he only managed to score in another six races.
Midway through the season, a self-described “lazy” Tsunoda had to move closer to the AlphaTauri factory in Faenza, Italy, and be more disciplined to get out of the hole he was in earlier in the season.
Team principal Franz Tost said he never doubted that the highly regarded Japanese man could turn things around. But before the 21-year-old reaches his second year, Tost says “it’s up to him now” to turn his natural talent into results.
“I can only say that Yuki is a really fantastic driver,” said Tost. “Now, it’s also in his hands what he makes of this, because being talented is one thing and performing is another. I know some F1 drivers who were very talented, but they won a race or even none at all.
“As a Formula 1 driver you can’t do little physical training, nutrition is very important, you have to be really disciplined. And the whole way of life has to match 100% what Formula 1 asks for.”
“That is now in his hands. We can only advise him, but then he has to do it himself. And this is where it will be seen if he can become a real front-line star. From a driving point of view, he can do it. Now it’s up to him.”
Tost called Yuki Tsunoda’s 2021 year “a fantastic example” of a rookie season, which seemed worse than it was because he was paired with an outstanding and now very experienced teammate, Gasly.
“Yuki’s season is a fantastic example of a rookie season,” Tost explained. “In the past it was always the same, but this year was the first time (in AlphaTauri) that there was a very experienced driver alongside a rookie.
“Normally we started with two rookies or a driver with a year of experience and then the difference was not so obvious.
Yuki Tsunoda, Alpha Tauri
“What happened with Yuki is totally easy to explain. In Bahrain he had a good race, he finished ninth, everything was fantastic. And it was clear to me that an accident would come soon, because Yuki was already driving on the limit.”
“But it’s always the same with young drivers. We tell them ‘hey, you’re on the limit’ and I know exactly what Yuki had in mind. After Bahrain he thought – and that’s typical of young drivers – ‘hey, Formula 1 is not that difficult.
Accidents came, with an aggressive Tsunoda crashing at Imola, both in qualifying and in the race, followed by further crashes in test races, when his confidence began to suffer and his move to Italy was arranged.
“He was shocked, he lost confidence,” added Tost. “Of course, then comes the question: ‘Am I capable of doing this? Maybe Formula 1 is too fast for me? It’s the same for all drivers, but with Yuki there is a fantastic example.”
“That is the reason why I say that a young driver needs at least three years to understand Formula 1 a little, because Formula 1 is much more complex than people think.
“In 2022 it’s a completely different story because he already knows a lot more. I’m sure we’ve made the right decision [by renewing him].”
