“Of course I try to be the best rookie driver in Formula One”- Yuki Tsunoda on competing Mick Schumacher

“Of course, I try to be the best rookie driver in Formula One”- Yuki Tsunoda is prepared to take on Mick Schumacher this year.

This year, Formula 1 is introducing three rookies to the rank; out of the three, two are going to be hosted by Haas (Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin), and Yuki Tsunoda will be driving for Alpha Tauri.

The Japanese race driver had a brief spell in F2 before making the big move. Yet, he is not hesitant to take on his contemporaries Schumacher and Mazepin, who have slightly more experience.

‘With Mick and Nikita, we drove last year together, and we fought with each other. I am also looking forward to fighting with them this year, but I don’t focus much on them. Even the other drivers, I focus on myself,’ he said to Daily Mail.

‘For sure, they will perform well in Formula One. I am also really interested in how they are going to battle each other on the same team. But just for me, I need to focus on my job.

‘Of course, I try to be the best rookie driver in Formula One. But also, Mick from last year did an excellent job, especially consistency wise, so he had a solid season to get the points. So I try to learn from him.

‘My weakest point at the moment is my consistency, so I need to work hard to get that consistency. Especially in Formula One, it is really really important for consistency, so try to work hard and improve that weak point.’

I have to stay ahead of them.

Haas has refused to develop this year’s car, and that is why they are expected to be the weakest team of the season. In contrast, Alpha Tauri has made some impressive upgrades, so Tsunoda is seeking a rank above the two Haas drivers.

‘I think AlphaTauri, for me, looks a much stronger team than Haas, to be honest, so I have to finish ahead of them,’ Tsunoda said. But I am also trying to get as many points as possible for AlphaTauri, and I aim to be close to the top five as a team hopefully.’

‘So I have strong confidence that I can finish ahead of them and perform better than them.’

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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