Yuki Tsunoda wowed Formula 1 fans with another display of daring driving at the Miami Grand Prix as his impressive start to the season continues.
The Japanese racer got off to a great start in F1 with points on his debut, but struggled to make much of an impression after that. Some believed he might have been axed by AlphaTauri after his second season, but Franz Tost chose to take a chance.
Tsunoda was handed an extension for this season and, so far, he has grasped the opportunity with both hands. He has competed for points at all five races so far and shown excellent consistency, finishing 11th in the first two races followed by back-to-back 10th places.
In Miami, the 22-year-old struggled in qualifying and could only go 17th fastest in Q1. A battle for points looked difficult from that position given AlphaTauri have probably the slowest cars on the grid, but Tsunoda showed from the very start that he meant business.
Footage from the camera mounted on board his car showed Tsunoda eyeing up a move on Zhou Guanyu on the first lap. And instead of waiting for a more obvious chance to pass, he had a go around the outside heading into the turn 14 chicane.
He almost got the move done, but not quite on this occasion. But Tsunoda would not have to wait for long before he was past the Alfa Romeo, getting the better of Zhou at the end of the long straight before turn 17.
"I swear Tsunoda is crazy," one fan wrote on social media as they posted a clip of the Japanese racer's driving. Another commented: "He's really raising his game now that he's the team leader." And a third agreed: "He makes that car look good!"
Tsunoda capitalised on that aggressive start by climbing six places to 11th, narrowly missing out on points again by just over a second to Kevin Magnussen. And his strong start to the year has not gone unnoticed by his team boss, who predicts big things may be in the young racer's future.
Tost said: "As far as I know, Sergio Perez still has a contract for next year. All I can say is that Yuki is on the right track. He has improved in every respect. But I think he should drive at AlphaTauri again in 2024. In 2025, I think he will finally be ready for Red Bul l."
