Tsunoda impresses: "Even Verstappen couldn't do that"

With the arrival of Yuki Tsunoda Helmut Marko has once again managed to have a junior driver make their debut in Formula 1. The Austrian is a big fan of the Japanese, who already impressed in Bahrain.

Yuki Tsunoda has only been in Europe for two years, but he has already made a huge impression. The Japanese driver won a race in his first year in Europe in Formula 3, and with the pressure on, he became the best Rookie in Formula 2 in 2020. With 3 wins and 4 poles, Marko couldn't ignore him.

That Marko had made the right choice, became clear to him during the winter test. ''We gave him five sets of tyres and with each fresh tyre he was faster than the last. That was five optimal qualifying laps. Even Verstappen couldn't do that. The way Tsunoda goes over the track promises a lot for the future," Marko told Kronen Zeitung.

After Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen, Tsunoda should become a new pupil of Marko who can make the difference at Red Bull Racing. ''He is an exceptional boy. He also has a great sense of humour for a Japanese,'' concluded Marko.