'Tsunoda has the speed and talent, but still lacks confidence'

"Before he joined Honda, he was part of the Toyota school and I taught him. Then he was 14 or 15 years old", Kobayashi begins his recollection of Yuki Tsunoda, the latest protégé from Helmut Marko's stable. He does this in an interview on the Beyond the Grid podcast.

On the qualities of the Formula One driver born after 2000, Kobayashi says the following: "I think he will be good, but it depends on how it fits, how he matches with the car and the team as well. It looks like there is big support from Red Bull and the team, so I think he should be okay. Gasly is doing really well in the AlphaTauri."

Golden tip

Asked for his golden tip for the young driver, the Japanese racer says: "He needs to have a very good manager. He can do really well but he might also make mistakes. If he makes a mistake he needs someone to explain it to the team, he needs a kind of filter to manage himself."

"Because he is so young, and does not have that much experience in motorsport. He still needs to learn to be confident in himself. He has talent, he has speed, but the point is for him to manage his image to the team, and have direction from Helmut Marko."