14/10/2020
NEWS STORY
Ahead of a test focussed on his F1 superlicence, Japanese star, Yuki Tsunoda has had a seat fitting at AlphaTauri
The 20-year-old Japanese racer, part of the Red Bull and Honda Junior Driver programmes, is currently third in the F2 championship with Carlin.
He needs to finish at least fourth in the series, with four races remaining, to qualify for an F1 superlicence.
In order to be able to drive the AT01 during an FP1 session this year, which is a possibility according to the Faenza-based team, he has to cover 300 kilometres in an F1 car.
With this in mind, he will drive the 2018 Toro Rosso STR13 at Imola on 4th November following the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix that takes place the previous Sunday.
Before the fitting, Tsunoda was met by team principal, Franz Tost and other team members, had meetings with the engineers, and began familiarizing himself with other aspects of the car.
As for his target at Imola, Tsunoda isn't planning on breaking any lap records.
"My main priority is to do those 300 kilometres," he said. "I don't want to crash or go off the track because the more mileage I do, the more I can understand the car, so I will take it easy.
"But I am confident that I can do it and I will drive the way I normally do. I will focus on my job while enjoying my first day in a Formula 1 car. I am sure I will be very excited when I'm sitting in the car waiting for the green light at the end of the pit lane."
Once the test is over, Tsunoda's main focus will be on the remaining two F2 rounds and four races in Bahrain at the end of November and start of December.
"As I said before, fourth is my minimum target, but I'm a racing driver, so I want to win and come first. And I'm sure this F1 test will give me extra motivation and confidence."