The youngest driver on the grid, born in the same year Michael Schumacher won his first world championship with Ferrari, the first Japanese one since 2014. Yuki Tsunoda is definitely someone to keep an eye on in the next season. In the past couple of days he had the opportunity to try out an F1 car a second time after taking part in the Abu Dhabi young driver test. Yesterday and today he was doing laps at Imola on the 2019 car, getting to know his colleagues and trying out the special pedals that had to be accommodated for him, due to his short height- he is only 5.2 ft (1.58 m)!

He also released an interview with Alpha Tauri, covering a number of both personal and driving-related topics. Firstly, he retraced the path that led him to F1. He began karting when he was 10, with his father as a mechanic, for whom he is really grateful:”I have to thank him for all the success I have so far – he has helped me to become a better driver.” 

In 2016, he entered the Honda Formula Dream Project and began his single-seater career debuting in the F4 Japanese Championship, due to former F1 driver Satoru Nakajima's support, winning in 2017 the Regional title and in 2018 the National title.

In 2019, he competed in the Formula 3 championship with Jenzer Motorsport and scored an overall ninth place, as the only point-scorer for his team. He also scored his first win at Monza, which he recalls as the “best moment in his career”: " I think I would not have been in F2 the following year without that win. It was my first win in Europe, so I have many happy memories from that day.”

In 2020, he competed for Carlin alongside Jehan Daruvala. After a difficult start of the season, he obtained an overall third place, with three wins and seven podiums, and won the Anthoine Hubert Award: “It was a very successful season, one of the best in my racing career.” However, he isn't fully satisfied with himself: "By the end of the season, it was not yet where I wanted to be, but had improved so much since the start."

But what's the key to his rather quick arrival in the top championship?”Every year I improve a bit and I’ve managed to win in every category I have competed in. Those wins were not easy, and they built up my confidence." The Japanese driver also mentions a good psychological and mental job he did last season with a mental coach, and the hard work he put in on tyre management.

The young driver also spoke about the difficulties of moving from Asia to Europe, and the cultural shock he experienced. He said that he found hard at first adapting to the new environment, especially to the new food -" I really like food and having to change my diet – I like sushi and Japanese food in general – I got a little bit stressed."- and to the language.

On a more personal note, he also said that in his free time, just like any other 20 years-old, he enjoys playing video games and doing outdoor sports like snowboarding and wakeboarding. He has a younger sister, his favourite colour is orange and his favourite kind of music is Japanese pop. 

He also talked about his racing number: in karting he used 11, but since it was already taken by Perez, this season he will race with 22, in honour of 2009 World Champion Jenson Button and Japanese driver Takuma Sato.

we think it’s safe to say @yukitsunoda07’s having fun ✌️ pic.twitter.com/IFD3CLBQSl

— Scuderia AlphaTauri (@AlphaTauriF1) January 27, 2021

volume up & enjoy 😌 @yukitsunoda07 giving it full beans around Imola 👊 pic.twitter.com/M4cBne5D9Q

— Scuderia AlphaTauri (@AlphaTauriF1) January 28, 2021