Swearing, Overtakes, and Spins: Yuki Tsunoda’s Journey in F1 So Far
April 29, 2021
The last time a Japanese driver raced in Formula 1, motorsport’s premier open-wheeled racing series, Yuki Tsunoda was only fourteen years old. Now, at twenty, the Japanese rookie is making his season debut with the AlphaTauri F1 team.
In 2016, Tsunoda started racing open-wheeled cars in the Japanese Formula 4 championship. In his first year in the competition, Tsunoda placed 16th out of 28 drivers. The next year, he climbed to 3rd place, and in 2018, Tsunoda was crowned champion of F4 in Japan. For the next two years, he took part in the Red Bull Junior Drivers Program (yes, the energy drink Red Bull) and raced in both Formula 3 and Formula 2, taking ninth and fourth place respectively. After just a single year in F2, Tsunoda was promoted to his current position on the AlphaTauri F1 team, which is also part of the Red Bull Racing program.
At his first race in Bahrain, Tsunoda qualified to start the race 13th, but had a poor start, dropping two places in the first lap. Over the remaining 56 laps, the Japanese driver was able to fight his way into the top ten finishers, pushing his pace to overtake four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel and two-time world champion Fernando Alonso among others. In the final lap, Tsunoda passed Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll to secure ninth place and two points in the championship for his team. This race made Tsunoda the first rookie since 2016 finish in the top ten and score points in their debut.
Along with his aggressive racing style and frequent overtakes, Tsunoda has gained popularity on the internet for his short stature, combined with his fiery personality. Somewhat known for his swearing habit in F2, Tsunoda has brought his words of frustration into F1. During a practice session in Bahrain, Tsunoda shouted, “Like come on, I got ****ing traffic!“ into his team’s radio. Then, in the second race of the season, Tsunoda once again complained about a congested track. “Its ****ing paradise, like traffic paradise! What is this one?“ he said.
After his stellar debut in Bahrain, expectations for Tsunoda to perform at the next race, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, ran high. However, his weekend got off to a shaky start, as Tsunoda crashed his car into the wall before he was able to record a qualifying time. This meant that he was automatically demoted to the back of the grid, starting Sunday’s race in 20th place.
Through a rain-covered track and multiple race restarts on Sunday, Tsunoda was able to work his way up to 9th place at about the halfway point. This position was short-lived because on lap 35 of 63, his car spun off the damp track. Tsunoda was never able to regain his position and ended the race 12th.
Afterwards, Tsunoda wrote on his Twitter page about the race, “First F1 race in the wet didn’t go as planned. The car had good pace so I’m keeping my head up for the next race.“
Tsunoda and the other drivers have two weeks until the next Grand Prix kicks off in Portugal.
Kian Takizawa • Apr 30, 2021 at 2:51 PM
Hir Ren, this is Kian. I have followed F1 on and off for a couple of years now and I too believe that Tsunoda is one of the best rookies there has been in a while. I also find his short-tempered aggression hilarious. Good job on this article, it shows that you have done your research and are truly interested in the topic. Nice!
Choran Sun • Apr 30, 2021 at 2:50 PM
Fascinating article and I really liked how it was direct. For people like me, who don’t actively read or watch anything about racing, it was straightforward to understand Yuki Tsunoda’s journey. It is always great to see Japanese Stars as most of them go under the radar.
Otto Kottegoda-Breden • Apr 30, 2021 at 12:16 PM
Amazing story Ren, I am not usually into F1 racing however you made this read very interesting to me. I had no idea Tsunoda had overtaken the four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel and I think that was an incredible achievement for this young man. You used some excellent vocabulary and it really kept me intrigued, good work.
Moritz Wagner • Apr 30, 2021 at 12:16 PM
Hey Ren, I really thought that you did an excellent job explaining who Yuki Tsunoda is and how he rose to where he is. I loved the information and content of this article and how you linked Tsunoda’s characteristics with his driving style. Really good job!!!
Corbin • Apr 30, 2021 at 12:15 PM
I like this article as it is informative and was a fun read. I don’t know much about F1 racing but it sounds pretty interesting!
Jayden Vergien • Apr 29, 2021 at 2:50 PM
Hi Ren, it’s is me, Jayden. I just wanted to tell you how you have a very interesting article and I really enjoyed reading it. I see how you use F1 terminology and vocabulary which shows your understanding and helps me understand better. I really liked this article, keep up the good work.
Kai Morales • Apr 29, 2021 at 2:47 PM
Awsome read Ren. Great job shedding light on this new and promising Japanese driver!
Sean Feygin • Apr 29, 2021 at 12:53 PM
Tsunoda’s rise through the ranks is quite impressive. He went from 16/28 in Formula 4 in 2016 to a decent start to 2021 in Formula 1 in just 5 years while still only being 20 years old with a lot of potential in him. I look forward to seeing what he’s got in the rest of this F1 season.
Hiroya • Apr 29, 2021 at 12:49 PM
I think this article is very informative and I enjoyed reading it. On top of presenting the news well, I found Tsunoda’s swearing quotes to be quite humorous.