Yuki Tsunoda will be hoping to make the 2024 British GP memorable by performing well on the track. Off it, however, things are already going his way. Ahead of the race weekend, the crowd started chanting his name in unison, so much so that on-stage performers were baffled.
Kings of Leon, a rock band, was performing live in Silverstone on Thursday. Surprisingly, the entire crowd started singing Tsunoda’s name in a song. “Oh Yuki Tsunoda,” they shouted as reported by F1 presenter Christian Hewgill.
Hewgill also reports that the band had no clue what the fans were talking about. Still, they said, “I don’t know what you’re saying but I like it.”
In a HIGHLY amusing turn of events the Silverstone crowd have just started chanting OH YUKI TSUNODA mid Kings of Leon set and they said
“I don’t know what you’re saying but I like it”#F1 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/LeaT1wtzms
— Christian Hewgill ️ (@ChrisHewgill) July 4, 2024
This was a testament to Tsunoda’s popularity, despite him being one of the drivers competing in the midfield. He made his debut in 2021, and after a few tough years, has finally established himself as a reliable driver. This, added to his appearances on Netflix’s Drive to Survive gave fans a unique insight into how Tsunoda behaves off the track, and he started becoming a bigger fan favorite every year.
All this translated into the Japanese driver being cheered loudly by the Silverstone fans, a group of people who create one of the best atmospheres out of any track on the calendar.
How Tsunoda has outperformed 8-time winner Daniel Ricciardo
2024 has been Tsunoda’s best year in F1 so far. When the season started, many expected him to crumble under pressure as he and V-CARB teammate Daniel Ricciardo were directly competing against one another for a place in F1 in 2025.
However, the V-CARB driver has been consistent, and has outperformed his teammate for the most part. Tsunoda is 10th in the standings 19 points to his name, eight ahead of Ricciardo.
The Australian driver, on the other hand, has had a turnaround in form after what was a difficult start to the campaign for him. Following a chassis change in China, he started getting closer and closer to Tsunoda. And in Austria last weekend, Ricciardo completely outperformed him, finishing P9, five places ahead of the Japanese driver.
