Formula 1 driver Yuki Tsunoda, 24, is no stranger to Macao. He raced on the iconic Guia Circuit in 2019 and finished 11th. This experience was just one stepping stone on his journey to the pinnacle of motorsport.
Tsunoda’s passion for racing ignited when he was just four, inspired by his father, amateur racer Nobuaki Tsunoda. In 2016, the younger Tsunoda joined the FIA F4 Championship as part of Honda’s Formula Dream Project (HFDP), a driver development program and finished third in his debut season.
The following year, he became the first Honda apprentice to win the Japanese Formula 4 title. That success pushed him into Formula 3 in 2019 with Jenzer Motorsport, where he finished 9th in the standings. In 2020, Tsunoda took on Formula 2 with Carlin and came third in the championship. He also became the first Japanese driver to win the FIA Rookie of the Year award.
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His F1 debut came in 2021 with AlphaTauri, now VISA Cash App RB, where he made an immediate impact by finishing 9th and becoming the first Japanese driver to score points in his debut race. Tsunoda capped off his rookie season with a standout performance, finishing 4th in the final race at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Tsunoda currently sits in 12th place in the driver’s standings. He recently visited Macao as a guest of Sands Lifestyle and sat down with Macao News to talk about his rise in motorsport and the challenges he faced getting into Formula 1.
What was your experience racing in Macao and how does it compare to Monaco?
Macao was fun, but I remember it was quite a tricky race overall.
Compared to the two, Monaco is more organised. It’s more of a racing track and Macao is a proper street circuit [and is] thrilling because of the high-speed corners. I would also say one very tricky corner, a 180-degree corner, is the Lisboa Bend. Even in F3, you will go up to 280 kilometres per hour [as you approach it]. In Monaco, there’s not much of that long stretch, so Macao feels more high speed and Monaco is more, like, technical.
How would you describe your rise in the Formula world?
Very quick. I grew in different areas as a driver, but more just as a human.
Especially in the first year of F4, I was in Japan. I was more focused on racing. I was spending time with my family. It was comfortable. But in 2019, because of my move to F3, I left Japan and moved to Switzerland. The situation changed. I had to live by myself. That was the first time I lived by myself. Language is completely different. You have to speak English.
Another thing was communication with the team. When I was in Japan, obviously I spoke Japanese. So it was very easy to describe what I wanted about the setups or the car in every single detail. But because my English wasn’t that perfect yet, I couldn’t properly describe what I wanted after moving. So the first half of the season was pretty tricky.
What are some of the challenges you faced going into F1?
The first challenge in F1 was the media. Even though F2 and F1 were in the same paddock, it felt like a completely different world. A lot of media, commitment, sponsors and it’s not all about racing. You want to be able to learn and handle various situations. It comes with a lot of pressure.
During my first year, I got Pierre Gasly as a teammate. He helped me with a lot of things and we had a good relationship, in and out of racing. That helped me to stabilise my mentality, especially because I had a pretty rough season. But because I had quite a good relationship and with Pierre outside racing, I was able to maintain my focus and feel the motivation to race.
What’s been one of the most memorable moments in your career so far?
My first race in F1: Bahrain 2021. When I looked around the grid, there were Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso. They were racing when I was seven years old. I couldn’t believe those drivers that I watched [as a kid] were still there and racing with me.
If you could recommend a place to visit in Macao to your fellow F1 drivers, what place would you suggest and to which driver?
I would prefer a Chinese restaurant. I would [ask fellow F1 driver] Zhou Guanyu. I think he knows more than I do about this place, so I want to get some advice from him and experience Chinese food together.
Apparently you sing well. What’s your go-to karaoke song?
Recently, I’ve been singing “Castle on the Hill” by Ed Sheeran.
If you weren’t an F1 driver, what would you be?
Either a chef or a football player.
Really? What position would you play as a footballer?
I play with the mechanics and engineers once a week. I think I’m good at midfield.
Motorsports is a team sport but you can also call it an individual sport. As a racing driver on the track, you want to be selfish. Obviously in football, you don’t want to be selfish too much. That’s when I realised maybe I’m not really good at team sports. But I like to pass a lot and I think my passing accuracy is pretty good, so more like an offensive midfielder.
What advice would you leave us with?
If you drink Red Bull, it gives you wings [laughs].
