F1 Insiders Admire Yuki Tsunoda’s Bold Move That Made Max Verstappen & Lewis Hamilton Look Like Amateurs

Yuki Tsunoda absolutely loves Abu Dhabi. Over the last three years, he has comprehensively beaten his teammates all three times. He even managed to secure a career-best P4 here in 2021. There is no doubt that it’s his best track, and he’s shown us again why. Going into the last race of the 2023 season, AlphaTauri was a mere 7 points behind Williams for P7 in the Constructors’ Championship. Both Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo needed to put in the races of their lifetime for a shot at the $87 million for P7. Unfortunately for the Faenza-based team, only one driver delivered. Not only did Yuki Tsunoda do an amazing job, but he also outshone the likes of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi. 

The 23-year-old driver started the race weekend with a bang. For a race that had so much hanging in the balance, Tsunoda pulled out all the stops in qualifying. He lined up in a career-best P6, and what followed was one of his best performances since he joined the sport. Indycar race winner James Hinchcliffe couldn’t help but laud Tsunoda for his valiant P8 finish, valiant because of his unconventional strategy execution.

In his Hinch’s Heroes feature on F1.com, Hinchcliffe wrote, “[Tsunoda] cycled out further back than he had been running, meaning committing to the one-stop strategy was [AlphaTauri’s] best bet to improve.” That’s where he outclassed both Hamilton and Verstappen, who were on two-stop strategies. “On a day when even Max Verstappen admitted tire deg was a bigger deal than he thought, he was the only man in the points to pull off this strategy,” added Hinch. What’s more? Someone from Hamilton’s camp acknowledged the Japanese driver’s “risky” yet rewarding strategy.

In a post-race debrief, Rosie Wait, Mercedes’ head of strategy, commented, “Most people would target a one-stop race, much similar to Tsunoda. But at that time, it was a very risky proposition.” She continued, “If you go back to last year, it was a mixture of one and two-stop strategies. That’s what we expected and what we saw this year.” However, despite Tsunoda’s amazing race, AlphaTauri had to settle for P8. 

Read more: F1 Expert Drags Daniel Ricciardo Back to Reality as Yuki Tsunoda Aces Abu Dhabi GP Qualifying

Tsunoda’s newfound pace was a welcome surprise for many. Could it point to the fact that he had something to prove to Red Bull, especially after the rumor mill snubbed him out of contention for a seat with the works team in 2025? 

Could Yuki Tsunoda move to Red Bull in 2025?

When signing on Daniel Ricciardo to replace Nyck DeVries, Helmut Marko and Christian Horner stated that they would be evaluating the performances of Tsunoda, Ricciardo, and Sergio Perez to see who makes the cut for the second seat in 2025. However, thanks to Ricciardo’s amazing Mexico race and Sergio Perez’s recent race back to form, many wrote Yuki Tsunoda out of contention for that seat alongside Verstappen. 

However, in Abu Dhabi, Tsunoda showed everyone, especially Red Bull, his true potential. He had an amazing Saturday, outqualifying both Perez and Ricciardo, and had a flawless race on Sunday. With performances like these, anything could be possible, including securing the second Red Bull seat come 2025.

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One race wouldn’t be enough to prove Yuki Tsunoda deserves a seat at Red Bull, though. In 2024, he will have to do it race in and race out to increase his chances of securing that drive with the Milton-Keynes outfit.