Tsunoda: "I owe a lot to the late Hubert"

Yuki Tsunoda has established himself in the hearts of many Formula 1 fans during his first season in Formula 1. The small Japanese driver from AlphaTauri is fast on the track and has his heart on the sleeve. His swearing on the team radio is already legendary. Those who think that this is the only side of Tsunoda will be disappointed.

Inspired

In a video of his team, Tsunoda says he was inspired by a very special person, Anthoine Hubert. The Frenchman crashed at the Spa circuit in 2019. "He is one of the reasons why I am in Formula One," reveals the Japanese. "I was inspired by his driving style. He helped me become a better driver," the Formula One rookie stressed.

Since the race in Qatar, Tsunoda has not been idle. "I went karting for a day. It's always good to do something different, drive something that's not a Formula One car. You can learn from it and get interesting feedback that can help you improve in some areas. Alex (Albon) was also there, so we had a lot of fun together. It's also physically demanding and you use different muscles than what you need in an F1 car, so it's also useful from a training point of view."

Work in the simulator

Looking ahead to next weekend, Tsunoda says he has already put in a lot of hours in the simulator. "It's really fast, and that means confidence in the car will be an important factor because the run-off areas are not that big. It will be important that I do my job well during the free practice sessions and get going that way. In any case, I'm in the same situation as the other drivers because this track, like Qatar, is completely new to everyone."