After a forgetful outing in Monza last week, Yuki Tsunoda had a much better time this week following a special event by Red Bull. The Japanese driver got the chance to drive a $543,000 Honda NSX GT3 Evo around the Nurburgring, becoming the youngest driver to go around the 12.9-mile circuit. After completing the lap, the 23-year-old had a lot to say about the circuit and the car he drove.
The Red Bull Formula Nurburgring is a one-of-a-kind motor sporting event where the world of F1 comes to the famed ring in Germany. Apart from Tsunoda, 4-time world champion Sebastian Vettel will also run around the track in the RB7. Also on the list was a now-injured Daniel Ricciardo, who will be replaced by David Coulthard. The event also sees various record attempts, but there have been no announcements for an attempt this year.
Yuki Tsunoda becomes a Red Bull driver for a day
23-year-old Tsunoda has had a hugely contrasting last two weekends. While on one weekend, he saw his race finish before it even began, the following weekend, the Japanese driver saw himself become the youngest driver to ever do a lap of the famous Nurburgring, that too, in a Honda NSX. Even though driving the car was a challenge, Tsunoda believes once he gets the hang of the track, it will be much more fun for him to drive around it.
“I don’t know the full track yet, and I don’t know the layout yet so I am taking it quite easy, but I am sure that once I get confident and I know the track properly I am sure that it will be a very fun track to drive.”
“This is my first time in a GT3 car, and the NSX is a very fun car to drive. The car is great, there are lots of things that you can adjust and you can feel the downforce so it is a lot of fun to drive.”
With Formula 1 heading to Singapore for the beginning of its Asian leg, Tsunoda will now look to shift his focus to the more important things in life. Following 17th September’s race at Marina Bay, F1 will proceed to Tsunoda’s home GP in Japan, where the young driver will hope for a much better time than he had in Monza.
Tsunoda had a lot of positives to take from Monza
During the formation lap of the Monza feature race, Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri emitted smoke, causing him to pull over to the side of the track. As a result, the Japanese had to see his race end before it even began, but it did not crush the optimist within him. Speaking to the media after the unfortunate incident, the Japanese driver revealed there were still a lot of positives for his team to take home from the weekend.
It’s an aborted start at Monza as Yuki Tsunoda stops on the side of the track with an engine failure ☹ pic.twitter.com/yDotSopRVw
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) September 3, 2023
Tsunoda mentioned the last three races have seen them deliver a consistent pace, which was a good sign for the team. He added the team has been able to extract performance with each race and show signs of improvements moving forward. Heading to Singapore, Tsunoda says he is not worried about a lack of performance from his car and is looking forward to racing at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. AlphaTauri is currently dead last in the constructor’s championship with a mere three points from fourteen races.
