AlphaTauri team boss Franz Tost had indicated for some time the plan was always to keep Tsunoda alongside Pierre Gasly – confirmation of whom was given back in June – pending sign-off from Red Bull.
Tsunoda said a few weeks ago that his future depended on “things in the background”, but that he was satisfied with his displays even if the results this year have been hard to come by. Tsunoda hasn’t scored a point since Spain, although AlphaTauri as a whole has found itself struggling more in the crowded midfield than it was 12 months ago.
As things stand, an unchanged line-up of Tsunoda and Gasly is locked in at AlphaTauri for next year, but that could still change. Alpine is known to have Gasly at the top of its shortlist to fill its second seat, and Red Bull is happy to release him from its sister team – so long as it has a replacement lined up and ready to go.
The plan to draft in Colton Herta from IndyCar had to be shelved when the FIA refused to budge on its superlicence rules, appearing to mean Gasly would stay put. But after it emerged that Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko met with Nyck de Vries last weekend, it is clear options are still being explored to replace Gasly and allow him to make the switch to Alpine.
Should Gasly leave, Tsunoda would be the experienced man and de facto team leader at AlphaTauri heading into 2023 – a big role for a driver who is often in the news for his temperament and is clearly still developing.
It is one Tsunoda admitted he may struggle to fulfil in the same way Gasly does at first.
“I wouldn’t expect straight away to be able to perform or give the feedback to the team straight away like Pierre,” he said at Zandvoort.
“But currently I’m learning as much as possible from him. Still, there’s a lot of room I can learn from him. Currently, we face it the same way, just develop the car as much as possible, to have more consistent pace through the race week.”
Tsunoda’s development has come on a long way, particularly since Red Bull moved him from the UK to Italy midway through last season to keep him closer to the team. It was a move of such importance that even got mentioned in AlphaTauri’s press release announcing him for 2023, noting his progression since then.
It has been a good environment for Tsunoda to work in. AlphaTauri is a small team without the pressure of a Red Bull or other front-running operation. He’s got a boss in Franz Tost who knows how to get the best out of your…
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