But who will be his teammate?
Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda is allowed to work longer for the Formula 1 team of AlphaTauri. Tsunoda’s contract is extended for another year.
AlphaTauri brought former Formula 2 driver Yuki Tsunoda to Formula 1 in 2021 for various reasons. According to Red Bull, Tsunoda showed enough potential to get started in Formula 1, but the fact that it is a Japanese also played a role. The latter was important for Honda, the engine supplier of AlphaTauri and sister team Red Bull Racing. Once in Formula 1, Tsunoda showed promising speed at times, but he also wanted to be a bit too enthusiastic. Tsunoda often crashed and occasionally struggled to keep his composure. This year it is going a lot better. Apparently good enough for AlphaTauri to continue with Tsunoda longer.
The 22-year-old driver will receive a fairly limited contract extension. The contract was due to expire after this season and has now been extended for another year. “I would like to say a huge thank you to Red Bull, Honda and Scuderia AlphaTauri for continuing to give us the opportunity to drive in F1,” said Tsunoda. “I moved to Italy last year to be closer to the factory, I really feel part of the team and I am happy to continue racing with them in 2023. Of course our 2022 season is not over and we are still pushing hard in the midfield, I’m fully focused on finishing it at a high level and then we’re looking forward to next year.”
It is still unknown who will be driving AlphaTauri’s other car next year. According to the latest persistent rumors, Pierre Gasly is leaving for the Alpine team, so AlphaTauri has to arrange a replacement. The team first had their eye on American Colton Herta, but that party is canceled due to a lack of super license points. The Dutchman Nyck de Vries is now tipped as the biggest contender. The driver from Friesland has come into the picture after his impressive debut GP in Italy. Then De Vries immediately scored points in the Williams.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl