AlphaTauri have had a disastrous 2023 season so far as they have just scored three points. Their third point came at this past weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix when Yuki Tsunoda finished tenth. This was the Japanese driver’s first points since the one he scored at Baku back in late April. However, with him having showcased his brilliance at the Belgian GP, he revealed how he can finally enjoy some negroni after three long months.
This is a tradition of AlphaTauri as they team treat themselves to this Italian cocktail whenever they score a point. And it is fair to say that Tsunoda deserves every bit of it following his fantastic race at SPA.
Yuki Tsunoda expresses his delight in finishing tenth at SPA
While speaking on the F1 Nation podcast after the Belgian Grand Prix, Yuki Tsunoda expressed his delight to score yet another point for AlphaTauri. “I am very happy. Now I can have a negroni finally, which is kind of a routine whenever I score points. Other than that we save for negroni for the next points,” explained the 23-year-old.
He then went on to add how he is looking forward to having negroni since he has not had it in the past three months. After stating the same, he concluded his remarks by explaining how happy he felt to overtake his former AlphaTauri teammate Pierre Gasly to score the final points for the team.
Back in the points! Had a great race where I felt good with the car and the team did a fantastic job 👊
前半戦最後のレースでポイントで終われて良かったです！最高の車作ってくれたチームのみんなに感謝です。応援していただきありがとうございました！ pic.twitter.com/yTE9AdvpSi— 角田裕毅/Yuki Tsunoda (@yukitsunoda07) July 30, 2023
Considering how Tsunoda has stepped up since Gasly left the team at the end of the last season, it is fair to say that he has done a fine job. This is because despite being just 23, he has brilliantly led AlphaTauri for the first half of this season when Nyck de Vries was his teammate.
Tsunoda was so much more impressive than De Vries that AlphaTauri decided to sack the Dutchman for his underperformances and replace him with Daniel Ricciardo. Since De Vries was brutally sacked, it is fair to say that Ricciardo cannot take anything for granted for the rest of the 2023 season.
Ricciardo will now face the challenge of being Tsunoda’s teammate
Ever since Daniel Ricciardo has made his blockbuster return to F1, he has made his ambitions abundantly clear. And that is to use this time at AlphaTauri for the rest of the 2023 season as a stepping stone to be in contention for the second seat at Red Bull sometime in the future.
However, if the Australian is to do that, he will have to beat his AlphaTauri teammate Yuki Tsunoda, which is going to be far from easy. The Japanese driver himself has revealed his keenness of wanting to be at Red Bull sometime in the future, and is well aware of the task in front of him.
This is because in an interview earlier this year (as quoted by soymotor.com), the 23-year-old stated how he is well aware of how F1 works, and that only the faster driver between him and Ricciardo will be able to make it to Red Bull. Hence, considering that the two are well aware of what is at stake for them for the rest of this season, all eyes will be on them.
