'Tsunoda's future in Formula One lies in his own hands'

Talent alone not enough for Tsunoda

That the 21-year old driver has talent is clear by now, but according to Tost having talent alone is not enough. In an interview with Motorsport.com, the team boss says he knows plenty of talented drivers who have never won a Grand Prix. Tsunoda finished last season only seven times in the points, but did end the season strongly with a fourth place in Abu Dhabi.

According to Tost, the future is now in Tsunoda's hands. According to the Austrian, Tsunoda cannot do enough physical training as an F1 driver and nutrition is also important. According to him, your way of life must be completely adapted to Formula 1. Tost can advise Tsunoda on this, but ultimately the Japanese will have to do it himself. His speed is not the issue.

Tsunoda just like every other rookie

That there are occasional doubts about Tsunoda's performance, according to Tost, is mainly because he had such an experienced teammate in Pierre Gasly. Normally AlphaTauri (formerly Toro Rosso) always has two (fairly) inexperienced drivers. Gasly's strong season made Tsunoda's erratic results stand out even more.

In Bahrain, Tsunoda scored his first points immediately during his debut race. Tost thinks that the Japanese driver then became a bit overconfident. He was right, because in the subsequent races there were frequent crashes and other errors. Nevertheless, Tost has faith in the Japanese. He thinks that next season, with the experience Tsunoda now has, it will be a completely different story and he is confident that the choice for Tsunoda is the right decision.