AlphaTauri has confirmed Yuki Tsunoda will step up to Formula 1 as its second driver alongside Pierre Gasly in 2021.
Tsunoda put together an impressive debut season for Carlin in Formula 2, finishing third in the drivers’ championship having won two feature race and one sprint race.
The Red Bull and Honda junior is highly regarded by Red Bull, who began backing him in 2019, with Tsuonda beginning preparations with an outing in a 2018-spec Toro Rosso at Imola last month.
At this week’s end-of-season young drivers’ test in Abu Dhabi, Tsunoda completed his first run in a 2020 F1 car, posting the seventh fastest time of the day.
Tsunoda will become the first Japanese driver to race in F1 since Kamui Kobayashi in 2014, as well as the first driver to be born this century.
Speaking about Tsunoda’s graduation to the team, AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost said his recent performances while testing F1 machinery show he is ready to race in the series.
“Red Bull has been following Yuki’s career for a while now and I am sure he will be a great asset to our team,” Tost said.
“Watching him in Formula 2 this year, he has demonstrated the right mix of racing aggression and good technical understanding.
“During the test in Imola in November when he drove our 2018 car, his lap times were very consistent over a race simulation, he progressed throughout the day and gave our engineers useful feedback.
“In addition, his integration with the Honda engineers has been seamless, which certainly helps. At the test in Abu Dhabi this week, he proved to be a fast learner and that he is ready to make the step to Formula One.”
Tsunoda, who replaces Daniil Kvyat in the second seat, added: “Like most racing drivers, it has always been my goal to race in Formula 1, so I am very happy with this news.
“I want to thank Scuderia AlphaTauri, Red Bull and Dr. Marko for giving me this opportunity, and of course everyone from Honda, for all their support so far in my career, giving me great opportunities to race in Europe.
“I must also thank the teams that I have raced with to get to this point, particularly Carlin, with whom I have learned so much this year. I realise that I will be carrying the hopes of a lot of Japanese F1 fans next year and I will be doing my best for them too.”
