Tsunoda on its way to AlphaTauri? Should Kvyat fear for his place?
- GPblog.com
Daniil Kvyat should make way for AlphaTauri at the end of 2020. The Russian has been given a number of chances by Red Bull, but will not be able to cash in on them again in 2020. Yuki Tsunoda is ready to jump in.
Since Honda has been back in Formula 1, it has already spoken out that there should be another Japanese Formula 1 driver. Takuma Sato, Kazuki Nakajima and Kamui Kobayashi are among the last Japanese in Formula 1, but Kobayashi's last race was in 2014.
Should Kvyat fear for his place?
In addition to the Formula 1 project, Honda has provided support to several Japanese drivers. At first Nobuharu Matshushita seemed to be the ideal contender, but he hasn't seized his chances in recent seasons to really impress the Formula 1 teams. Yuki Tsunoda is Honda's new hope and it seems to have a good chance.
The timing is perfect for Tsunoda. He is supported by Honda, which could host a rider at AlphaTauri. Red Bull doesn't have any great talents lined up and also sees that Kvyat isn't performing well enough. So there's a chance for Tsunoda to jump in and with his victory in the sprint race at Silverstone, he's getting involved in the title race.
Tsunoda to AlphaTauri
The Japanese will have to force a place in the top three to get his points for a super license. At the moment Ferrari talents Robert Shwartzman, Mick Schumacher and Renault-protegé Christian Lundgaard are still ahead of him in the championship, but of those four Tsunoda scored the most points in the last four races.
So after a difficult start to the season, the Japanese now seem to be on their way to a place at AlphaTauri in 2021. ''At Silverstone he showed how much he has grown as a driver. He's had the speed from the start of the season, but due to his lack of experience he sometimes came into contact with other drivers'', Masashi Yamamoto supports his pupil opposite Motorsport.com.