Yuki Tsunoda has been given a strict 2023 target by his Formula 1 team boss: “Score many more points than he did last year.”
That is at best uncompromising from Franz Tost, and at worst a bit unfair.
Tsunoda did a solid job against Pierre Gasly in 2022. Neither driver was to blame for their low points tally and Tsunoda was only outscored 23-12 by his much more experienced team-mate.
Tost’s words, which accompanied the launch of the new AT04 design for 2023, effectively ignore the context of 2022. And they barely acknowledge a pretty important caveat for the coming campaign.
“Last year, Yuki struggled with the car,” Tost states.
“This year, as I expect we will have quite a competitive car, Yuki must always aim to be in Q3 and finish the races in the points.
“He is a very highly-skilled driver and now has a lot of experience with two seasons in Formula 1.
“For this reason, of course, he has to score many more points than he did last year.”
It is unashamedly Tostian to be so matter of fact. His expectation of the AT04 is the key to setting such a target, so that final line should really be accompanied by ‘if the car is much better’.
At the same time, it really is that simple. If Tost is right and the AlphaTauri is closer to its 2020 or 2021 peak, then Tsunoda must indeed raise his game in kind. Tsunoda knows that, and the targets he has set himself are the same as Tost’s.
“My main goal is to perform more consistently in every race, independently from the car’s performance, and to score points more reliably,” Tsunoda says.
“I want to be more in control of myself at all times, work well with the team, understand the car as quickly as possible, right from the first race in Bahrain.
“I want this year to be my best performance of the three years in terms of getting to Q3 and scoring points.”
Tsunoda has the raw ingredients to do that. Last year was an improvement overall on a tricky rookie campaign, which Tsunoda puts down to taking his physical development more seriously – which continues in 2023, working alongside ex-Daniel Ricciardo trainer Michael Italiano – and his confidence returning after the tribulations of 2021.
He looked and sounded more like a serious F1 driver in 2022 and if there’s a similar step this year then both he and Tost have reason to believe their shared goals can be achieved – if, of course, the car is much better.
“I’m at a completely different level now, although I have still kept the good aspects of my first year,” Tsunoda reckons.
“But now, I am definitely more in control, more involved with the team when it comes to the development of the car and I also act differently, having learned lots of things, not just when it comes to racing but also in my life away from the track.
“Even that has a positive effect in how I race. I had underestimated what was involved, but now I’ve figured out the things that are really important.”
Tsunoda’s team-mate may add to or detract from the expectation AlphaTauri has of him. The arrival of Nyck de Vries is a different test for Tsunoda, he’s five years older and significantly more experienced in motorsport overall but does not have Tsunoda’s level of F1 knowledge.
On the one hand, it may be expected that AlphaTauri leans on Tsunoda even more. On the other, Tost is not shy to make it clear he does not view De Vries as a normal rookie.
“He has a great deal of racing experience, winning races and championships in many of the categories that he took part in,” says Tost.
“Therefore, I’m quite sure that he will be able to deliver good results soon in the season then to be finishing in the points in the races.
“Nyck is technically very highly-skilled and focused. When driving our car at the end of last season, he already gave the engineers good technical feedback. I think that he will immediately understand the new car.
“He will get familiar with the car quickly and his feedback will be useful because, as I said before, he understands the technical challenges that Formula 1 cars present.
“I believe he is one of the most adept drivers in terms of technical understanding of the car.”
Most teams keep their cards close to their chest at such an early stage of pre-season.
But AlphaTauri needs a response to an underwhelming 2022. And Tost is clearly in no mood to disguise how much he is expecting from its new car and, by extension, his drivers.
