Yuki Tsunoda had a great 2023 season, and there were talks of him getting the jump to Red Bull very soon. Still, there is a huge gap in terms of performance between the Japanese driver and Red Bull’s star man, Max Verstappen. However, in a recent feature uploaded by AlphaTauri, Tsunoda can be seen drawing a 2024 F1 car from scratch that could challenge and topple Verstappen with a whopping 125 points margin next season.
2023 was a historic season for Red Bull and Verstappen. The Dutchman won 19 races out of a possible 222. He had a massive haul of 575 points and clinched his third consecutive F1 title. With his own creation, Tsunoda aspires to dethrone Verstappen with a staggering 700 points to his name!
Tsunoda even made Jason Statham his title sponsor. It’s no secret that Tsunoda is a massive fan of the Hollywood action star and he was more than willing to share the glory of his 2024 championship winning year with the 56-year-old British icon.
In the video, Tsunoda explained, “This should be fast! Strong as well.” The video uploaded by the team was a pre-cursor to the young Japanese driver’s home race this year at the Suzuka International Circuit.
Yuki Tsunoda was Honda’s favorite son at the 2023 Japanese GP
Since he hails from the country, Tsunoda is always a fan-favorite at the Japanese GP. Tsunoda is also a driver who has been staunchly supported by Honda. Naturally, during this year’s race weekend he was engaged throughout in commercial and sponsorship obligations.
During the event, the AlphaTauri ace was seen karting and meeting his fans. There was an immense swarm of fans surrounding him and the atmosphere was electric. Every Japanese racing fan was in attendance to see their homeboy perform on the biggest stage of all.
️ | Franz Tost thinks Yuki Tsunoda will be a Red Bull driver in 2025:
“I can only say that Yuki is on the right track. He has improved in all aspects. I think he should drive for AlphaTauri in 2024. In 2025, he will finally be ready for Red Bull.” pic.twitter.com/J1RccYfIf7
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) April 5, 2023
Ever since his debut in the sport, Tsunoda has been a fan favorite in Japan. Even during his junior formula days, he made a name for himself. Hence, when he got to Formula 1, his stock amongst the Japanese populace grew exponentially. Since then, he’s gone onto to solidify his status as one of the brightest stars on the grid. He’s even been linked to a Red Bull seat in the near future.
Going into 2024, the Japanese racing ace will be running his fourth full-time season in the sport. With his teammate, Daniel Ricciardo and himself virtually auditioning for that 2025 Red Bull seat, Tsunoda will have to be firing on all cylinders to give himself a worthy shot at driving for the world champions.