F1: Yuki Tsunoda Became Emotional While Overtaking Alonso

Tsunoda also revealed that he learnt some tyre management techniques from Alonso.

By Sahil Gupta

1 mins read

Published on April 2, 2021

Highlights

Yuki Tsunoda revealed that he got emotional when he overtook Alonso
Alonso is one of the greatest drivers of all time and an idol for Tsunoda
Tsunoda has already been tipped to become a world champion in the future

Yuki Tsunoda has set the F1 paddock alive with his sensational debut at the Bahrain GP. His graduation to F1 has been fast-tracked since he was in F4 in just 2018. At Bahrain, he even managed to be in the points in the first race itself at P9, but to reach there he had to go past some stalwarts like Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso, who combine to have 7 world titles between them. The moment Tsunoda overtook the returning Fernando Alonso, things became emotional for the Japanese driver. The Honda engine looks really promising and so does the young duo of Pierre Gasly and Yuko Tsunoda at AlphaTauri "I got quite emotional when I caught up with Fernando. The last time I saw him the race was I think twelve or thirteen years ago when I was seven or eight years old," Tsunoda revealed. "At the first corner, I just trusted Fernando's skills and threw him in like a rookie. I still felt a little guilty for coming from so far away, but I was happy about it," he added. Tsunoda also revealed that he learnt some tyre management techniques from Alonso. "In the race, I drove a few laps behind Fernando and I learned how he pays attention to his tyres and drives in the corners," Tsunoda told Sky Sports F1 a few days later. "After I overtook him I tried to copy his driving style and in a few corners it improved as a result," he said. Red Bull's head of motorsport, Helmut Marko has already tipped the youngster to become a world champion in the future.