Yuki Tsunoda Has Another Year to Prove He Belongs in F1

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In 2021, Yuki Tsunoda was a promising, if unprepared, Formula 1 prospect. After only two seasons in Formula 3 and Formula 2, Tsunoda was moved into an F1 ride with Red Bull's Scuderia AlphaTauri quickly and given a chance to sink or swim at a program that has been short on young talent over the past few years. He struggled, and although 2022 was less disastrous, he struggled the next year too. But F1 licensing rules kept AlphaTauri from signing Colton Herta, its top choice for the 2023 season, and the program had already allowed Pierre Gasly to walk from his existing contractual commitments when they chose to sign Williams reserve driver Nyck de Vries.

This is the third installment of our driver-by-driver preview of the 2023 Formula 1 season. This weekend, we will be covering Scuderia AlphaTauri. You can find the rest of our previews here.

That means Tsunoda will get a third year as a prospect. It is a rare moment of patience from Red Bull, who recently compressed Alex Albon's entire career with the team down to just two seasons despite promoting him from Formula 2 all the way to the second seat at their championship-level senior team after just half a season at the then-Toro Rosso program.

Given how inexperienced he is in Europe, that third chance may be just what Tsunoda needs to save his career and prove he belongs in the Red Bull system long-term. More cynically, it could be the reality of a marketplace where Red Bull had few other promising options and a contractual obligation to enter the car. No matter the reality, the opportunity is the same: Yuki Tsunoda still ernters the 2023 season as a Formula 1 driver.

HOW HE GOT HERE

Tsunoda started racing cars in 2016, in Japan's domestic Formula 4 series. He finished third in his first full-time season in the series the year after, then won his first championship with a seven-win Japanese Formula 4 season in 2018. That put him on the fast track to F1.

Honda's strong F1 ties with Red Bull led Tsunoda to their farm system in 2019, a year he spent finishing a respectable-but-uninspiring ninth in FIA Formula 3. In 2020, he was promoted to Formula 2, where he finished a stellar third as a rookie in a series that traditionally skews more toward rewarding experience than young talent. He scored four poles in twelve opportunities and was alive in the championship hunt until the last weekend of the season, ultimately losing the title to fellow 2021 rookie Mick Schumacher.

Honda and Red Bull split shortly afterward, leaving little time for patience in developing their shared prospect. Red Bull moved Tsunoda to AlphaTauri in 2021, as a 20 year-old rookie with just one year each in Formula 3 and Formula 2. 2023 will be his third season with the program.