Why Tsunoda is a much bigger challenge for De Vries than people think

Tsunoda submits strong CV

Tsunoda will start his third full year in F1 in 2023, making this the first class in which Tsunoda has been active for more than two full seasons. It immediately shows the class of the still only 22-year-old Tsunoda. Very fast when he has his day, but also quite emotional and volatile in his performances.

Tsunoda crossed over to Europe only three years ago. The young Japanese was first in karting and between 2016 and 2018 in Japanese Formula 4. In 2016, he drove his first races in a formula car before really competing in the Japanese F4 championship in 2017. He immediately won three races and finished third in the overall standings. A year later, at the age of 18, he won that championship.

For any non-European, however, the biggest challenge is making the move to Europe. That's where the competition is fiercest and where you are ultimately judged to really qualify for the top. It is here where many Americans and also Asians drop out, because European talents have been able to put in many more hours in a more competitive environment.

Honda and Red Bull

Sometimes, however, a talent emerges and such a talent is Tsunoda. In 2019, he raced in Formula 3 in Europe and in this prestigious championship, he wins a race and stands on the podium three times. Tsunoda also competes in the Euroformula Open Championship that year, finishing fourth. Thanks to the partnership between Honda and Red Bull, the talent who was trained by Honda is now also in the arms of the Austrian organisation. He thus has a chance to reach F1.

A year later, Tsunoda is already thrown to the lions in Formula 2. Helmut Marko is watching the then 20-year-old Japanese's performance with great interest. It is only his second year in Europe, but that does not stop him from showing great things. For instance, he wins three races, starts from pole four times and becomes the best rookie with a third place in the standings. Marko has seen enough, this boy should go to AlphaTauri.

Tsunoda replaces Daniil Kvyat at AlphaTauri, who was dealt a bashing by Pierre Gasly in 2020. The Frenchman proved unable to withstand the pressure at Red Bull Racing, but in an AlphaTauri is a difficult teammate. Kvyat, who has some experience in F1 anyway, was beaten in the qualifying duel by 13-4 and an average difference of 0.212s.

Gasly is the right benchmark

So with Gasly, there is a good benchmark present for young talent and Tsunoda soon finds out. He scores his first points straight away in Bahrain, but after that the lack of experience still comes to the fore. Tsunoda makes a lot of mistakes, is very emotional over the radio and soon loses ground to Gasly.

In itself, this is not surprising. Tsunoda has only driven formula cars in Europe for two years and is suddenly put in an F1 car. Naturally, things go wrong. His lifestyle also turns out not to be quite right for an F1 driver and so Marko sends him to Faenza to learn under Franz Tost how to live as a top athlete. It sometimes produces iconic quotes and images.

Tsunoda loses heavily to Gasly in his first year. The Frenchman wins the qualifying duel 21-1 and an average difference of 0.527s per qualification. In the race, Gasly also finishes ahead of his teammate 14 times, where it is the other way around only once (when both finish). Gasly also scores more points: 110 compared to 32.

Yet, to his own surprise, Tsunoda is offered a new contract by Red Bull. Red Bull's talents are not up for grabs either, but given his history it is also not crazy to give the Japanese another year. As Tost always says: "A talent needs three years to show its full potential.

Tsunoda shows potential

And looking towards 2022, that choice seems justified. Whereas Gasly drove his teammate around the ears in 2021, Tsunoda is showing himself to be a much better sparring partner in 2022. The qualifying duel stands 11-7 in Gasly's favour after 18 races, and with an average difference of 0.094s, Tsunoda is a lot closer. The race duel stands 8-3 in the Frenchman's favour and in terms of points, the gap is also smaller: 23-11.

The growth Tsunoda is showing has caused AlphaTauri to give him another contract extension for 2023. The main question now will be whether he continues that growth, or whether he will soon hit his ceiling. Either way, he will have to start pulling the cart. In his third year for the training team, he needs to be the benchmark and show that he can become even more stable.

For De Vries, Tsunoda is a tough but not impossible challenge. Tsunoda has shown considerable improvement, but is still losing the duel to Gasly who fell just short at Red Bull Racing. So Tsunoda is not losing his duel to the world's top drivers. Still, due to his age and background, you have to expect a steep learning curve.

Also given both drivers' CVs, it will be quite a challenge for De Vries. The man born in Sneek always needed time to adjust in classes and only became champion in his third year in F2. Tsunoda finished third in his first season and only his second season in Europe. That does make a difference.

De Vries, however, has the advantage of experience. While Tsunoda has made more mileage in F1, De Vries has made more experience in motorsport. In addition, the 27-year-old driver has always been a stable and consistent driver and with that he could also make the difference in the duel with Tsunoda. However, it is not like it will be a breeze for the Dutchman.