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Tsunoda amazed by De Vries: 'Gave feedback like Lauda in Rush'

Tsunoda amazed by De Vries: 'Gave feedback like Lauda in Rush'

20-07-2023 15:49 Last update: 17:17
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Nyck de Vries' teammate Yuki Tsunoda reacts to the Dutchman's sudden dismissal from AlphaTauri. According to the Japanese driver, it all happened quite quickly, and he will miss his teammate. Indeed, Tsunoda compares De Vries to none other than Niki Lauda.

Tsunoda was told by the team just before the announcement that De Vries had been fired. The driver had already heard the rumours but did not know what was going on. Therefore, he was quite surprised anyway. According to him, it happened pretty quickly. The AlphaTauri driver told Motorsport-total.com all this ahead of the 2023 Hungary GP.

De Vries is reference point for Tsunoda

The two were in direct contact after the resignation was announced. Tsunoda says he was impressed by the Dutchman. Both on track and in the pit box, the Japanese driver thought all was good. Tsunoda especially speaks highly of De Vries' feedback. The driver would like to learn even more from the Dutchman.

"I have never seen such a driver. He says very specific things, but describes every detail in such a way that you understand it well." At the first meeting in Abu Dhabi in 2022, De Vries immediately left a fantastic impression. The F2 and FE champion was quite quickly able to expose exactly the pain points and say what needed to be changed about the front wing of last year's AlphaTauri.

Tsunoda: "Nyck was a good example and a good reference for me. I saw that film 'Rush' the other day. In it, Niki Lauda gave very good feedback about the car. De Vries is similar in that."