F1 broadcaster Alex Jacques has shared the ‘rumours’ that were circulating around Yuki Tsunoda before the 2024 F1 season started. Visa Cash App RB star Tsunoda has been one of the standout drivers of the year so far.
Tsunoda scored a point on home soil for the first time at the Japanese Grand Prix last weekend, lifting himself into sole possession of 11th place in the championship. He’s a point behind Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll and just three adrift of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
But speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, F1 commentator Jacques has now shared what he heard about Tsunoda in the paddock prior to the start of the season. The 23-year-old, who’s now started 67 Grands Prix, is in the final year of his contract with RB this term.
He’s comfortably beating teammate Daniel Ricciardo, who looked a ‘dead-cert’ to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull if he delivered in his first full season back. Tsunoda has swept Ricciardo in qualifying in the first four races and the Australian has yet to score a point.
Indeed, the former is single-handedly responsible for RB sitting sixth in the constructors’ championship. They’ve stolen the early advantage in a ‘very scary’ battle with Haas (four points), Williams, Sauber and Alpine (zero).
Alex Jacques explains why Yuki Tsunoda started the season ‘under pressure’
According to Jacques, there was talk behind in the scenes that Tsunoda’s seat was at risk heading into 2024. He hinted that this may have been evident in an ‘angry’ Bahrain Grand Prix where he expressed frustration with an order to let Ricciardo past.
Liam Lawson impressed in a five-race stand-in stint last year when Ricciardo broke his hand, and RB were ready to sign him up if Tsunoda didn’t ‘perform at the start of the year’. Tsunoda, however, has raised his game in response, surpassing even his known expectations.
Jacques said: “I think he actually started the season under pressure, Yuki Tsundoda, driving angry in Bahrain. And there were a few rumours in this paddock that he had to perform at the start of the year, otherwise Liam Lawson, who’s in every cutaway that we see any time an RB driver makes a mistake [would replace him].
“Yuki’s responded brilliantly to that. Yuki didn’t expect to 4-0 up against Danny Ric in qualy!”
Could Yuki Tsunoda join Aston Martin for 2025?
All of a sudden, the narrative may shift from whether Tsunoda will keep his seat to whether another team will pursue him instead. After all, he’s been raking in the plaudits so far this term.
Sebastian Vettel says his growth since the start of 2023 has been ‘great to see’, and that was before watching him shine in Japan. Karun Chandhok raved about his ‘awesome’ overtaking at Suzuka, while Damon Hill said he ‘delivered everything’ in front of his home crowd.
There doesn’t appear to be any prospect of Tsunoda graduating to Red Bull at the moment, even though Helmut Marko praised his ‘faultless’ driving. But Aston Martin could potentially be a destination ahead of their partnership with Japanese manufacturer Honda from 2026.
Both Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso are approaching the end of their contracts, and the former is under pressure while the latter explores opportunities further up the grid. Should one of them leave, it could open the door for Tsunoda.
BBC Sport’s Harry Benjamin has told Lawrence Stroll to utilise the newfound Honda links to capture Tsunoda. He feels they need a driver of his calibre alongside Alonso to truly become a ‘serious’ team.
The post ‘A few rumours’: What people in the paddock were saying about Yuki Tsunoda before 2024 season - Alex Jacques appeared first on F1 Oversteer.