Yuki Tsunoda and Fernando Alonso are on opposite ends of the age spectrum in the current F1 grid. The 22-year-old Japanese driver is the 2nd youngest in the grid. Meanwhile, 41-year-old Alonso is the oldest driver in the current grid.
Tsunoda was born just 10 months ahead of Alonso’s F1 debut at the 2001 Australian GP. Yet, the Spaniard has been a great influence on the AlphaTauri driver.
The Alphatauri driver claims he has learned a lot about racing just watching the 2x World champion. It still feels surreal for Tsunoda, who never thought he would get to race his idol.
When Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen made their F1 debuts, @yukitsunoda07 was just 10 months old 🍼 pic.twitter.com/fReEihtX4d
— WTF1 (@wtf1official) December 16, 2020
Fernando Alonso taught Tsunoda a lot about racing
Growing up, Fernando Alonso was one of Yuki Tsunoda’s racing idols. The Japanese race driver started following the 2x champion because of his father, who was also an Alonso fan.
“I am a fan of Fernando because of my father,” claimed Tsunoda on the ‘Beyond The Grid’ podcast. One of his most fond memories was watching his hero race at the Japanese GP in Suzuka.
Tsunoda recalled, “When I was 12 years old we met We were sitting in the grandstand at the last corner of Suzuka.” His father had informed him that the last corner of the circuit is notoriously difficult to overtake.
That Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton battle was something else! 😅#HungarianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/toeObV31Jx
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 26, 2022
Tsunoda’s dad told him a driver must stick to the white line to avoid the grass and hitting the barrier. However, he was amazed to see Alonso, lap after lap, get as close to the line as possible.
The 22-year-old claims the former world champion has taught him a lot about car positioning and defending during a race. He said, “I learn a lot from Fernando,” and said he had observed the Spaniard’s fantastic defense in the 2019 Hungarian GP ahead of the 2023 Australian GP.
Alonso managed to keep a much faster Lewis Hamilton for 11 laps, allowing Esteban Ocon to secure his maiden race win. The Japanese driver is grateful to learn and drive against the legend himself as he claimed, “It’s good that I can learn a lot from those legends. I have been watching them battle from the age of 7”
Yuki Tsunoda was blown away when Alonso swapped helmets with him
Fernando Alonso is still carrying on strong at the age of 41. The Spaniard has secured 3 podiums in the season’s first three races. Yuki Tsunoda is still overwhelmed with the fact that he gets to race his childhood heroes.
The Japanese driver shared, “I still can’t believe I’m racing with him. It’s incredible. I never would have expected it to race him in 13 years.” He shared a story of how the 2x world champion made him really nervous at first and later made his year with a gift.
Tsunoda wanted to exchange helmets with the former Ferrari driver but often hesitated in asking him. He said, “We’ve swapped the helmet, which was something I wanted even before I was an F1 driver. But I was too nervous, so I never asked him.”
Alonso 🔄 Tsunoda helmet swap 🥺 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/DPleJo9TOf
— WTF1 (@wtf1official) August 27, 2022
However, Alonso did what Tsunoda couldn’t gather enough courage to ask. The AlphaTauri driver added, “Then he asked me last year around the Spanish GP. My head exploded. I was super happy, I tried not to make a fool of myself in front of him.”
The Japanese driver claimed he thought Alonso was a “god-like” driver who did not want to be interfered with. Though, his opinions have changed since then. He is now awaiting the chance to battle him on track.
