Tsunoda satisfied with ‘one of my best’ F1 seasons

RB racer Yuki Tsunoda has expressed satisfaction over the level of performance he delivered throughout 2024, describing the season as “one of my best” in the sport so far.

Tsunoda started inside the top 10 positions at half of the 24 Grands Prix staged this year and scored points on nine occasions, contributing to a personal best classification of 12th in the drivers’ championship.

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Highlights included an eye-catching run to the third-fastest time in a rain-hit qualifying session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, along with P7 finishes in Australia, Miami and Brazil.

LUSAIL CITY, QATAR - NOVEMBER 30: Yuki Tsunoda of Japan driving the (22) Visa Cash App RB VCARB 01 — Tsunoda was contesting his fourth season with Red Bull sister team RB

Reflecting on his fourth campaign in F1, and giving it a rating out of 10, Tsunoda commented: “I would say eight. There were a couple of races where I could have done better. Compared to the last four years, it’s been one of my best for sure.

“I’m scoring more than half of the points for the team and able to show good consistency, and consistently outperforming my team mates. Hopefully they can build a bit more trust in me.

“I give a lot of feedback to the team to make a better car and we had a lot of races we were able to turn around. In those areas especially, I stepped up quite well.”

Tsunoda’s self-assessment has been backed up by RB team boss Laurent Mekies, who hailed the Japanese driver’s “outstanding” efforts over the course of the campaign.

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Asked in the closing stages of the season if Tsunoda was impressing him as much as he did at the start, Mekies commented: “Of course he is. If you look at the drivers’ performance, it very much followed the team’s performance through the year.

“We had a slow start, and a fantastic string of races, and a more difficult time when we hit some issues with our development. Finally, we managed to put the car back in the right window for this final part of the season, and the drivers’ results have been following that.

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“But when I see Yuki again performing at that level like he did in the last few races, it was all together an outstanding season from his side. I think he has made a step this season that nobody could forecast and it’s something he should be proud of.”

Tsunoda made his Red Bull test debut at last week’s post-season gathering in Abu Dhabi, but the squad have since confirmed that it is recent RB team mate Liam Lawson who will step up to replace Sergio Perez as Max Verstappen’s partner next year while F2 runner-up Isack Hadjar will be promoted alongside Tsunoda in 2025.