Rumour: Marko considered Tsunoda as teammate for Verstappen

74abfaf9ff14228b729ebdd445b994e3878023a0

17:48, 15 Dec 2020

Yuki Tsunoda drove a very creditable test for AlphaTauri today during the Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi and is expected to be announced as Pierre Gasly's teammate at AlphaTauri.

Rookie of the year

Tsunoda drove's last season in Formula 2. There he achieved third place in the championship with three victories. He also received the Anthoine Hubert Award for the rookie of the year. A place in Formula 1 seems a logical next step for the Young Japanese driver.

Tsunoda to Red Bull Racing

So it is expected that Tsunoda will go to AlphaTauri, but according to Formula 1 journalist Adam Cooper, Helmut Marko had big plans for Tsunoda. "Helmut Marko rates Yuki so highly that he may even have been tempted to put him straight into Red Bull Racing."

Cooper thinks that this will not happen until 2022 at the earliest, because there are too many interests for next year. "Dr. Marko knows that Red Bull Racing can win both titles, so it's not the time to experiment."

Adam Cooper

@adamcooperF1

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'@yukitsunoda07 tested for @AlphaTauriF1 today, and should be confirmed tomorrow for 2021. Helmut Marko rates Yuki so highly that he may even have been tempted to put him straight into @redbullracing. But Dr M knows RBR can win both titles, so it's not the time to experiment...

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	219
2	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	169
3	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	160
4	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	138
5	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	128
6	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	109
7	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	92
8	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	68
9	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	43
10	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	42
11	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	23
12	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	19
13	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	18
14	Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Bortoleto	AudiAUD	10
15	Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz	WilliamsWIL	6
16	Alexander Albon Alexander Albon	WilliamsWIL	5
17	Esteban Ocon Esteban Ocon	HaasHAA	3
18	Nico Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg	AudiAUD	2
19	Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso	Aston MartinAST	1
20	Lance Stroll Lance Stroll	Aston MartinAST	0
21	Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas	CadillacCAD	0
22	Sergio Perez Sergio Perez	CadillacCAD	0

Rumour: Marko considered Tsunoda as teammate for Verstappen

Rookie of the year

Tsunoda to Red Bull Racing

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