Yuki Tsunoda Thrives by Defying Expectations in F1

Yuki Tsunoda Thrives by Defying Expectations in F1

15/04/2024

Yuki Tsunoda discusses his satisfaction in surpassing the expectations set by his RB F1 team and critics, emphasizing his competitive spirit.

Yuki Tsunoda explained how much he enjoys proving people wrong, after swiftly taking the lead in the head-to-head between RB F1 teammates, with the Japanese driver tasked with beating Daniel Ricciardo to secure his future at Red Bull or elsewhere.

Ricciardo’s position in Red Bull’s sister team was supposed to be an all-season audition for a potential return to the “senior” team alongside Max Verstappen for 2025, but Tsunoda gained the upper hand in the first four races.

Now in his fourth season at Faenza, Tsunoda spoke about his need to demonstrate his value to his current team and other potential contenders for next season.

After beating Nyck de Vries to such an extent that he was shown the door mid-last year, Tsunoda seems poised to do the same to Ricciardo this time, with the latter possibly being sidelined in favor of Liam Lawson if he doesn’t improve.

When told he was proving his skeptics wrong so far this season, Tsunoda responded with a smile.

“You know, I enjoy proving some people wrong.”

“It’s always the same story. It’s like with Nyck, people were saying Nyck could be the lead driver as soon as he arrived. Helmut Marko expected it too. And you saw.”

“I’ve gotten used to it, you know, it’s nothing different facing Daniel and I’m very happy to prove people wrong.”

“I just keep doing what I do and ultimately, that’s what I need to do to be a good driver and a good Formula 1 driver in everyone’s eyes.”

“That’s what the best drivers have, they manage to go where they want. I mean, I just surprise people and I hope it will serve my future.”

Yuki Tsunoda Thrives by Defying Expectations in F1

Yuki Tsunoda Thrives by Defying Expectations in F1. Yuki Tsunoda Thrives by Defying Expectations in F1

F1 Standings 2025
F1 Standings 2025
#
Driver
Points
1
Driver Flag
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
0
2
Driver Flag
Lando Norris
McLaren
0
3
Driver Flag
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
0
4
Driver Flag
Oscar Piastri
McLaren
0
5
Driver Flag
Carlos Sainz
Williams
0
6
Driver Flag
George Russell
Mercedes
0
#
Team
Points
1
McLaren
Norris & Piastri
0
2
Ferrari
Leclerc & Hamilton
0
3
Red Bull
Verstappen & Lawson
0
4
Mercedes
Russell & Antonelli
0
5
Aston Martin
Alonso & Stroll
0
6
Alpine
Gasly & Doohan
0
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6 Apr
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13 Apr
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Jeddah Street
20 Apr
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