Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bull): 10,000 laps at Suzuka / Formula 1

A look at the statistics shows: We’ve seen 21 drivers compete in the Formula 1 World Championship, starting with Hiroshi Fushida in Holland in 1975.

It wasn’t until Satoru Nakajima and Imola in 1987 that we saw the Japanese in the points, the Lotus driver finishing sixth that time. In 1989, Nakajima became the first Japanese with the fastest lap.

First appearance on the winner’s podium: Aguri Suzuki in 1990 for the home doctor at Suzuka, finishing third in Gérard Larrousse’s racing car. Also on the podium at this Honda race track – Kamui Kobayashi in 2012 with Sauber.

Yuki Tsunoda wants to emulate Suzuki and Kobayashi. The Racing Bulls driver raced around the Suzuka circuit at the age of 16 and claimed: “I know every trick here.”

Even Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen can’t be found at the Suzuka Circuit in as many photos as local hero Tsunoda. Japanese posters everywhere, lots of fans, many in Racing Bulls team gear.

The 23-year-old, currently ranked 11th in the World Cup, remains calm despite all the noise around him. “That’s all very good. I don’t feel any pressure. Instead, I feel supported by positive energy.”

Tsunoda and Suzuka are closely related: Here he competed in the racing school seven years ago, here, according to his own statements, “he completed 10,000 laps. So I know every trick here.”

“However, I did a lot of laps in a Formula 4 car, where we are 45 seconds slower per lap than in a Grand Prix car. You have a lot less power, so you slide more. It doesn’t matter what car you have – Suzuka is never boring. “

Yuki is eager to enter the track for the third time after 2022 and 2023, “because when the 2021 Grand Prix was canceled due to the epidemic, it was very difficult for me to digest. I always dreamed of becoming a driver of Formula 1, but the icing on the cake for me was starting in front of my own audience. I still cringe when I think about it – just a few years ago I was watching the Turn 2 race from the podium, and now I’m on the starting grid, that’s crazy.

Why do we still not have a Japanese GP winner after all these years? Tsunoda explains: “It is not easy as a Japanese to go to Europe and compete with the elite there. Many also fail because of the language barrier. If you don’t have native English, it’s not easy to explain to your engineers what the car does.”

« Another thing: When a Japanese comes to Europe, he doesn’t know many roads. But in a junior class like Formula 3, you only have one free practice session and then you start qualifying.”

Tsunoda was ninth in the first practice session and fourth in the second wet practice session and is looking for his first points in Suzuka. In 2022 he finished thirteenth in the Japanese GP, and in 2023 he came twelfth.

“We showed in the first training session that we have the speed to be in the top ten again. We have a new lower part on the car, but it should be very good in the slow corners, and there aren’t many of them here.”

2. Studies, Japan

01. Oscar Piastri (AUS), McLaren, 1:34.725 min
02. Lewis Hamilton (GB), Mercedes, 1:35,226
03. Charles Leclerc (MC), Ferrari, 1:38,760
04. Yuki Tsunoda (J), Racing Bulls, 1:40,946
05. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS), Racing Bull, 1:41.913
06. Lando Norris (GB), McLaren, 1:44.977
07. Carlos Sainz (E), Ferrari, 1:52.579
08. Guanyu Zhou (RCH), clean, no time
09. Valtteri Bottas (FIN), clean, no time
10. Alex Albon (T), Williams, no time
11. Kevin Magnussen (DK), Haas, no time
12. Nico Hülkenberg (D), Haas, no time
13. Esteban Ocon (F), Alpine, no time
14. Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing, no time
15. Logan Sargeant (USA), Williams, no time
16. Pierre Gasly (F), Alpine, no time
17. Sergio Pérez (MEX), Bull Red Racing, no time
18. Fernando Alonso (E), Aston Martin, No Time
19. Lance Stroll (CDN), Aston Martin, no time
20. George Russell (GB), Mercedes, no time

1. Studies, Japan

01. Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing, 1:30,056 minutes
02. Sergio Pérez (MEX), Red Bull Racing, 1:30.237
03. Carlos Sainz (E), Ferrari, 1:30.269
04. George Russell (GB), Mercedes, 1:30,530
05. Lewis Hamilton (GB), Mercedes, 1:30,543
06. Charles Leclerc (MC), Ferrari, 1:30,558
07. Fernando Alonso (E), Aston Martin, 1:30.599
08. Oscar Piastri (AUS), McLaren, 1:31.165
09. Yuki Tsunoda (J), Racing Bulls, 1:31,230
10. Lando Norris (GB), McLaren, 1:31.240
11. Esteban Ocon (F), Alpine, 1:31,935
12. Alex Albon (T), Williams, 1:31,943
13. Nico Hülkenberg (D), Haas, +1:31.958
14. Valtteri Bottas (FIN), Sauber, 1:32.054
15. Lance Stroll (CDN), Aston Martin, 1:32,055
16. Ayumu Iwasa (J), Racing Bull, 1:32,103
17. Pierre Gasly (F), Alpine, 1:32,277
18. Guanyu Zhou (RCH), Sauber, 1:32,638
19. Kevin Magnussen (DK), Haas, 1:32.803
20. Logan Sargeant (USA), Williams, 1:33,204