AlphaTauri rookie Yuki Tsunoda has set himself the high target for becoming the first Japanese driver to win in Formula 1.
At the Bahrain Grand Prix, Tsunoda will become the 10th Japanese driver of his race in F1, and the first since Kamui Kobayashi retired at the sport in late 2014.
Aguri Suzuki, Takuma Sato and Kobayashi have stood on the podium once with a third-place finish, in fact 20-year-old Tsunoda hopes to change.
Following on from the publication of the AT02Tsunoda said: “I just want to beat the other drivers and I also want to be the first Japanese driver to win a Formula 1 race.”
Just as Max Verstappen was the youngest driver on the grid when he made his team debut in 2015 when he was then known as Toro Rosso, Tsunoda is the youngest for the team. upcoming season.
Tsunoda, who is also the first driver on the grid born since the turn of the millennium, maintains that his young age does not put extra weight on his shoulders.
“I don’t think it was worth putting too much emphasis on age, since Max Verstappen was 17 when he started,” Tsunoda said.
“But I feel honored to be the first driver of the grid born in 2000.
“I’m really excited to start. The biggest thing for me is lining up on the grid with so many superstitions of the sport.
“It’s an honor to compete against some of the biggest drivers in the world. ”