Yuki Tsunoda

The native form of this personal name is Tsunoda Yūki. This article uses the Western name order.

Yuki Tsunoda

File:2021 US GP, Tsunoda.jpg Tsunoda in 2021
Born	(2000-05-11) 11 May 2000 Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Japanese
Car number	22
Entries	( starts)
Championships	0
First entry	2021 Bahrain Grand Prix
Last entry	2016 Monaco Grand Prix
2022 position	17th (12 pts)

Yuki Tsunoda (Japanese: 角田 裕毅, Tsunoda Yūki, pronounced [tsɯnoda jɯ̟ᵝːkʲi]; born 11 May 2000) is a Japanese racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Scuderia AlphaTauri. Supported by Honda since 2016 through the Honda Formula Dream Project, he was the 2018 Japanese F4 champion and in 2019 also received backing from Red Bull. He finished third in the 2020 Formula 2 Championship and made his Formula One debut in 2021 for AlphaTauri.

Early career

Karting

Born in Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Tsunoda started his professional karting career in 2010, joining the JAF Junior Karting Championship, before moving to the regional class in 2013 and to the national class in 2014.

Japanese Formula 4

2016

In 2016, Tsunoda graduated from Honda's Suzuka Circuit Racing School in the advanced formula class and became a member of the Honda Formula Dream Project. In the same year he made his single-seater debut in the F4 Japanese Championship with the Sutekina Racing Team for a one-off event in Suzuka. He claimed his first podium with 2nd in the first race and finished 4th in the second race.

In 2017, Tsunoda started his first full season of single-seater racing in the F4 Japanese Championship while also contesting in the regional East series of the JAF F4 Japanese Championship. At Okayama, he would his win first race. Tsunoda won the title of the regional championship while finishing third in the national Formula 4 championship. He contested both championships with Honda.

2018

Tsunoda continued to race in Japanese F4 in 2018 with the Honda Formula Dream Project team. Tsunoda amassed seven wins and claimed the title during the final race at Motegi, beating rival Teppei Natori by 14 points.

FIA Formula 3 Championship

File:FIA F3 Austria 2019 Nr. 14 Tsunoda.jpg

Tsunoda racing at the 2019 Spielberg Formula 3 round

With Honda tying up with Red Bull in Formula One, Tsunoda also joined the Red Bull junior team alongside the Honda programme. At the end of 2018, Tsunoda was announced to join Jenzer Motorsport in the newly announced FIA Formula 3 Championship. He scored tenth place and his first point during the first race in Barcelona, and ninth in Race 2. More points came in Paul Ricard where he came away seventh in Race 1, but struggled to ninth in Race 2 from second. Tsunoda failed to score points in Austria, but came back during Race 2 in Silverstone with seventh. He scored points in Budapest, with ninth and sixth place. In Spa-Francorchamps, he qualified in an astonishing third place. The Japanese racer dropped to sixth in Race 1, but from third in Race 2, scored a breakthrough second place. Monza was fruitful for Tsunoda, finishing fourth on the road but was promoted to the podium following a penalty for Marcus Armstrong. In Race 2, a storming start from sixth moved him to third at the start. After passing Fabio Scherer, he would go by Jake Hughes on lap 15 and claim his only F3 win of the year. He finished ninth in the championship with 67 points, including three podiums and a win, scoring all of the Jenzer team's points during the season. Tsunoda finished 11th for the Macau Grand Prix.

Euroformula Open

Tsunoda also competed for Motopark in the Euroformula Open Championship, following the cancellation of Formula European Masters. After a second-place finish in the first race at Paul Ricard and achieving third place in the Pau Grand Prix, Tsunoda claimed his maiden championship win in the second race at Hockenheim. In Spa-Francorchamps, Tsunoda was involved in a collision with teammate Liam Lawson during the second race, having scored second place in Race 1. He took a double podium during the Monza final round. Despite missing two rounds due to F3 commitments, Tsunoda placed fourth in the standings with 151 points, one win and five more podiums.

Toyota Racing Series

Before the start of his 2020 season, Tsunoda partook in the 2020 Toyota Racing Series with M2 Competition alongside Liam Lawson. Tsunoda scored only one win throughout the campaign, during the second race at the opening round in Highlands Motorsport Park. Two further third places later landed him fourth place in the championship.

FIA Formula 2 Championship

In the beginning of 2020, Honda announced that Tsunoda will join Carlin to race in the FIA Formula 2 Championship alongside new Red Bull junior Jehan Daruvala. The season was set to start in Bahrain, but started in Austria in July due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He topped free practice on his debut, but only qualified 12th. HIs races were disappointing, colliding with Daruvala on the opening lap of the feature race saw him finish last, but recovered to 11th on Sunday. During the second Austrian round, Tsunoda stormed to his first pole. He would lead the race for much of the race under wet conditions, but encountered a radio problem that delayed his pit stop. He would pit two laps later than expected and drop to fourth place, but fought past the Virtuosi drivers for second place. More disappointment followed as a engine issue saw him drop out of the race on lap 10. Another disappointing round in Hungary rewarded him with zero points, with a 16 and 18th place.

Tsunoda qualified ninth in Silverstone, and made a masterclass charge, passing Christian Lundgaard on the last lap for third place. Another sprint race disappointment followed, as he was taken out by Callum Ilott on the opening lap. During the second Silverstone round, Tsunoda qualified tenth and moved up to sixth for the feature race. In the sprint race, he remained in third for most of the race, until lap 19 of 21, where the two Prema drivers ahead collided and promoted Tsunoda for his maiden win. Post-race, Tsunoda stated that "he had the potential for P1 even without late Prema crash". Tsunoda qualified sixth in Barcelona. Tsunoda would briefly lead on lap 30 after a safety car restart due to the frontrunners pitting again, but they caught up on fresher tyres, including fellow compartriot Nobuharu Matsushita, and he dropped to fourth. He again finished fourth in the sprint race.

Tsunoda took his second pole of the year in Spa-Francorchamps. After a slow pit stop during the feature race, Tsunoda would fall behind Nikita Mazepin but fought back to him by lap 20. Mazepin would push Tsunoda wide on the penultimate lap while defending, which earned the Russian a five-second time penalty. Tsunoda would be promoted to the win having finished second on the road. In the sprint race,Tsunoda finished in ninth as a penalty for hitting Ilott at the start saw him drop out of the points due to a time penalty. He secured second in qualifying for Monza. A slow start in the feature race dropped him to fifth, Tsunoda made it up by crossing the line in fourth place. In the sprint race, mechanical woes saw him out early. In Mugello, he qualified 11th and finished eighth on the road in the feature race, but was penalised for colliding with Dan Ticktum, dropping to 16th. His disappointing weekend continued in the sprint race, as he damaged his front wing hitting the back of Felipe Drugovich on the fourth last lap, and was forced to pit which dropped him to 20th.

In Sochi, Tsunoda claimed his third pole ahead of teammate Daruvala. He settled for second place after being overtaken by Mick Schumacher, although he would win a battle over Ilott for runners-up position on the last lap. In the sprint race, Tsunoda finished in sixth. Tsunoda sat third in the standings heading into the two-month break before the final two rounds, 44 points behind leader Schumacher. In Bahrain, Tsunoda spun out on his flying lap, which left him down in last. He made an incredible charge on the alternate strategy, charging to sixth. In the sprint race, Tsunoda suffered a puncture on lap 1 cause by contact with Marcus Armstrong which ruined his race, ending in 15th. He took pole for the second Bahrain round. Tsunoda had another feature race battle with Mazepin, but the Japanese driver would win out and take another victory. In the sprint race, a last lap charge passing Ticktum would seal second place. Overall. Tsunoda took three wins, four pole positions, seven podiums and finished third in the championship with 200 points.

Formula One

In August 2020, Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda Formula One team principal Franz Tost announced that Tsunoda would drive for the team in the end-of-season rookie test at Abu Dhabi in December 2020. He had his first drive in a 2018-spec car at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, Italy. He again tested Formula One machinery at Imola in January 2021, but this time, he drove an AlphaTauri-liveried Toro Rosso STR14, Toro Rosso's 2019 car.

AlphaTauri (2021–)

2021

File:FIA F1 Austria 2021 Nr. 22 Tsunoda.jpg

Tsunoda at the 2021 Austrian Grand Prix

Tsunoda replaced Daniil Kvyat and partnered Pierre Gasly at the team for the 2021 season. His car number is 22.

At the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, Tsunoda finished in ninth place. After the race, Ross Brawn, Formula One's technical director, hailed Tsunoda as "F1's best rookie for years". He crashed in qualifying for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and went on to finish the race in twelfth place after starting from the back. He qualified sixteenth for the Spanish Grand Prix and later apologised after questioning whether he and teammate Gasly had "the same car". He went on to retire from the race with an electrical failure. Tsunoda reached the third qualifying session (Q3) for the first time at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but then brought out the red flags after crashing. He finished the race seventh. Tsunoda crashed again in qualifying at the French Grand Prix and was forced to start from the pit lane. He reached Q3 again at the Styrian Grand Prix but received a grid penalty for impeding Valtteri Bottas.

Tsunoda achieved his best Formula One result up to that point at the Hungarian Grand Prix. He started the race sixteenth, improved to seventh place at the finish line, and was promoted to sixth after Sebastian Vettel's disqualification. He retired from the Dutch Grand Prix with a power unit issue. At the following race, the Italian Grand Prix, he collided with Robert Kubica in sprint qualifying and then failed to start the race due to brake issues.

In the next seven Grands Prix, Tsunoda advanced to Q3 all but once, but was only able to convert one of those into a points finish, placing ninth at the United States Grand Prix. However, in the final race of the season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, he qualified in eighth position; notably, this was the first time all season that he outqualified teammate Pierre Gasly, who was eliminated in Q2. From this position, he went on to finish fourth and gain 12 points, just ahead of Gasly in fifth, thereby improving his best Formula One result thus far. With those points, Tsunoda secured 14th place in the drivers' championship and ended the year on 32 points.

2022

File:Yuki Tsunoda 2022 Emilia Romagna GP.jpg

Tsunoda at the 2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

Tsunoda and Gasly were retained by AlphaTauri for the 2022 season. Tsunoda qualified sixteenth and finished eighth at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. A fuel issue prevented him from setting a qualifying time at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix; he then failed to start the race after a power unit failure. At the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Tsunoda finished seventh, ahead of teammate Gasly, having qualified sixteenth. He described the race as the best of his Formula One career. His first Q3 appearance of the season came at the Miami Grand Prix and he scored points for the third time in six races at the Spanish Grand Prix, finishing tenth.

A streak of twelve races without scoring points followed. Tsunoda hit the wall in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix and finished the race seventeenth. He was running seventh at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix until he was forced to pit for repairs after a DRS failure. He crashed whilst exiting the pits at the Canadian Grand Prix and collided with Gasly at the British Grand Prix, for which Tsunoda later apologised. He qualified eighth for the French Grand Prix but a first-lap collision with Esteban Ocon resulted in Tsunoda's eventual retirement. At the Dutch Grand Prix, Tsunoda retired with a differential issue. He had stopped at the side of the track and loosened his seatbelts before driving back to the pits, for which he was given his fifth reprimand of the season and therefore a grid penalty for the Italian Grand Prix. At that event, he received another penalty for failing to slow for yellow flags in practice. He then crashed out of the Singapore Grand Prix having qualified tenth.

Tsunoda scored a point at the United States Grand Prix where he started nineteenth, gained five places on the first lap and finished tenth. He was running eleventh at the Mexico City Grand Prix but was eliminated in a collision with Daniel Ricciardo. He ended the season seventeenth in the drivers' championship with 12 points to Gasly's 23.

2023

On 22 September 2022, AlphaTauri announced Tsunoda would stay with the team through the 2023 season. Nyck de Vries will replace Alpine-bound Gasly as Tsunoda's new teammate.

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2016	F4 Japanese Championship	Sutekina Racing Team	2	0	0	0	1	30	16th
2017	F4 Japanese Championship	Honda Formula Dream Project	14	3	4	1	6	173	3rd
2018	F4 Japanese Championship	Honda Formula Dream Project	14	7	8	4	11	245	1st
2019	FIA Formula 3 Championship	Jenzer Motorsport	16	1	0	1	3	67	9th
	Euroformula Open Championship	Motopark	14	1	0	3	6	151	4th
	Macau Grand Prix	Hitech Grand Prix	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	11th
2020	FIA Formula 2 Championship	Carlin	24	3	4	1	7	200	3rd
	Toyota Racing Series	M2 Competition	15	1	0	0	3	257	4th
2021	Formula One	Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda	22	0	0	0	0	32	14th
2022	Formula One	Scuderia AlphaTauri	22	0	0	0	0	12	17th
2023	Formula One	Scuderia AlphaTauri	-44					Template:F1R2023*	Template:F1R2023*

* Season still in progress.

Complete F4 Japanese Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	DC	Points
2016	Sutekina Racing Team	OKA 1	OKA 2	FUJ1 1	FUJ1 2	SUG 1	SUG 2	FUJ2 1	FUJ2 2	FUJ2 3	SUZ 1 2	SUZ 2 4	MOT 1	MOT 2	MOT 3	16th	30
2017	Honda Formula Dream Project	OKA 1 3	OKA 2 1	FUJ1 1 11	FUJ1 2 5	AUT 1 9	AUT 2 2	SUG 1 5	SUG 2 Ret	FUJ2 1 1	FUJ2 2 4	SUZ 1 1	SUZ 2 3	MOT 1 8	MOT 2 4	3rd	173
2018	Honda Formula Dream Project	OKA 1 Ret	OKA 2 1	FUJ1 1 1	FUJ1 2 1	SUZ 1 1	SUZ 2 1	FUJ2 1 2	FUJ2 2 3	SUG 1 3	SUG 2 1	AUT 1 8	AUT 2 11	MOT 1 1	MOT 2 2	1st	245

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	DC	Points
2019	Jenzer Motorsport	CAT FEA 10	CAT SPR 9	LEC FEA 7	LEC SPR 9	RBR FEA 16	RBR SPR 11	SIL FEA 14	SIL SPR 7	HUN FEA 9	HUN SPR 6	SPA FEA 6	SPA SPR 2	MNZ FEA 3	MNZ SPR 1	SOC FEA 12	SOC SPR 25†	9th	67

^† Driver did not finish the race but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

Complete Macau Grand Prix results

Year	Team	Car	Qualifying	Quali Race	Main race
2019	Hitech Grand Prix	Dallara F3 2019	21st	16th	11th

Complete Toyota Racing Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	DC	Points
2020	M2 Competition	HIG 1 5	HIG 2 1	HIG 3 4	TER 1 11	TER 2 7	TER 3 3	HMP 1 7	HMP 2 16	HMP 3 3	PUK 1 4	PUK 2 7	PUK 3 4	MAN 1 9	MAN 2 7	MAN 3 6	4th	257

Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	DC	Points
2020	Carlin	RBR FEA 18	RBR SPR 11	RBR FEA 2	RBR SPR Ret	HUN FEA 16	HUN SPR 18	SIL FEA 3	SIL SPR Ret	SIL FEA 6	SIL SPR 1	CAT FEA 4	CAT SPR 4	SPA FEA 1	SPA SPR 9	MNZ FEA 4	MNZ SPR NC	MUG FEA 16	MUG SPR 19	SOC FEA 2	SOC SPR 6‡	BHR FEA 6	BHR SPR 15	BHR FEA 1	BHR SPR 2	3rd	200

^‡ Half points were awarded as less than 75% of the scheduled race distance was completed.

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	WDC	Points
2021	Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda	AlphaTauri AT02	Honda RA621H 1.6 V6 t	Template:F1R2021	Template:F1R2021	Template:F1R2021	Template:F1R2021	Template:F1R2021	Template:F1R2021	Template:F1R2021	Template:F1R2021	Template:F1R2021	Template:F1R2021	Template:F1R2021	Template:F1R2021	Template:F1R2021	Template:F1R2021	Template:F1R2021	Template:F1R2021	Template:F1R2021	Template:F1R2021	Template:F1R2021	Template:F1R2021	Template:F1R2021	Template:F1R2021	Template:F1R2021	Template:F1R2021
2022	Scuderia AlphaTauri	AlphaTauri AT03	Red Bull RBPTH001 1.6 V6 t	Template:F1R2022	Template:F1R2022	Template:F1R2022	Template:F1R2022	Template:F1R2022	Template:F1R2022	Template:F1R2022	Template:F1R2022	Template:F1R2022	Template:F1R2022	Template:F1R2022	Template:F1R2022	Template:F1R2022	Template:F1R2022	Template:F1R2022	Template:F1R2022	Template:F1R2022	Template:F1R2022	Template:F1R2022	Template:F1R2022	Template:F1R2022	Template:F1R2022	Template:F1R2022	Template:F1R2022
2023	Scuderia AlphaTauri	AlphaTauri AT04	Honda RBPTH001 1.6 V6 t	Template:F1R2023	Template:F1R2023	Template:F1R2023	Template:F1R2023	Template:F1R2023	Template:F1R2023	Template:F1R2023	Template:F1R2023	Template:F1R2023	Template:F1R2023	Template:F1R2023	Template:F1R2023	Template:F1R2023	Template:F1R2023	Template:F1R2023	Template:F1R2023	Template:F1R2023	Template:F1R2023	Template:F1R2023	Template:F1R2023	Template:F1R2023	Template:F1R2023	Template:F1R2023*	Template:F1R2023*

* Season still in progress.

External links

• Official website
• Yuki Tsunoda career summary at DriverDB.com

Sporting positions
Preceded by Ritomo Miyata	F4 Japanese Championship Champion 2018	Succeeded by Ren Sato
Awards
Preceded by Zhou Guanyu	Anthoine Hubert Award 2020	Succeeded by Oscar Piastri