Formula 1

Tsunoda’s Critical 2023 F1 Season Post-Gasly Departure

Published

1 month ago

18/02/2023

The 2023 F1 season presents a critical opportunity for Yuki Tsunoda, who must prove his potential and secure a long-term future in the sport. With Pierre Gasly’s departure, Tsunoda has the chance to take on a leadership role in the team and become its most experienced driver.

To succeed, he must work on improving his race pace, strategy management, and give more measured technical feedback.

Yuki Tsunoda faces a make-or-break season in 2023 as he looks to prove he has a long-term future in Formula 1.

With Pierre Gasly departing, Tsunoda has an opportunity to stake his claim as a team leader and show his genuine ability consistently, something he has struggled with in his two previous F1 campaigns.

Having scored points in just 11 of his 42 starts, Tsunoda has a lot at stake going into a season that could go either way.

Although Tsunoda has shown serious pace and the ability to extract the maximum performance out of his car over one lap, the big question is whether he can translate this into regular results and well-executed weekends.

To do so, he needs to build a fuller understanding of what makes him quick, which is a process that all young drivers must go through. If he can crack this, he has the potential to become a formidable F1 driver.

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Tsunoda has made progress since his rookie F1 season in 2021, during which his performance was held back by the need to engineer more pace-sapping stability into the car to help him rebuild his confidence.

Although he bookended the season with points on debut in Bahrain and a career-best fourth in the Abu Dhabi finale, Tsunoda’s struggles in races and difficulty in stringing together complete race weekends hampered his progress.

However, in 2022, Tsunoda is in a different headspace, more comfortable in the team, and confident in himself.

He has come a long way since the previous year and has made strides in his performance. His strength is in qualifying, where he can string a lap together.

But he still needs to work on his race pace, managing tyres, managing strategy, and seeing the big picture for 50-60 laps.

One area where Tsunoda needs to improve is his tendency for excitable radio messages.

Although the team has allowed him to vent on occasion, he needs to work on clarity and give technical feedback in a more measured manner.

Out of the car, Tsunoda is a very different character, technical, and gives good feedback.

Tsunoda faces a critical third year in F1 and must make good on the potential he has shown.

With Gasly’s departure, he has the opportunity to become the most experienced member of the team and take a step up in confidence.

However, Tsunoda’s character is quite different from Gasly’s, who is much more of a leader and motivator.

Tsunoda is still progressing towards that, and whether the departure of Gasly flicks the switch for him remains to be seen.

Tsunoda’s Critical 2023 F1 Season Tsunoda’s Critical 2023 F1 Season

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