Yuki Tsunoda on role AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost has played in his career

Yuki Tsunoda recently spoke about his boss, Franz Tost, AlphaTauri team principal. The young Japanese driver is now in his third year in F1 and has performed fairly well. He has been with the team for a few years now and has developed a great relationship with Tost.

On the Beyond the Grid podcast, Tsunoda explained how Tost can get angry if he does not perform well. Tsunoda gave the example of the 2022 British GP, where he collided with his former teammate, Pierre Gasly.

Tost was not happy with the Japanese driver. However, he later explained how Tost still supports him and is not too hard on him, which has helped him flourish in F1. The AlphaTauri driver said:

"Well, if I performed really bad or I did a stupid thing, like crashing into a teammate at Silverstone last year, he won't be happy about it. But at the same time, he always says the points that I have to improve next time."

He added:

"He's always not being too hard. He’s always on the side of the driver, which I really appreciate. That's why I'm able to develop as a driver this much, because if I was feeling too much pressure from him, I don't think I would be able to improve as much because I think he's always supportive. I always enjoy having conversations with him about racing as well."

Regarding Franz Tost's retirement from the sport, Yuki Tsunoda said that he would miss him and his leadership. The driver also said that he wouldn't feel as comfortable in AlphaTauri if Tost leaves:

"I will definitely miss him. We share a lot of moments together. We’re always on the same page. He has a lot of leadership. I will miss him, especially feeling the support he gives me so, if I lose him, maybe I won’t feel as comfortable or excited in the team compared to usual."

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Yuki Tsunoda feels surreal driving alongside Fernando Alonso

Yuki Tsunoda still feels surreal driving alongside one of his childhood heroes, Fernando Alonso.

The 41-year-old Spaniard was about to enter F1 when Tsunoda was born in 2000. Speaking about Alonso, the young Japanese driver said that how he always wanted to swap helmets with another F1 driver and how fortunate he felt when he could do so with Alonso.

On the Beyond the Grid podcast, he said:

“I still can’t believe I’m racing with him. It’s incredible. I never would have expected it to race him in 13 years. We’ve swapped the helmet, which was something I wanted even before I was an F1 driver. But I was too nervous, so I never asked him.”

To put their age difference in perspective, Yuki Tsunoda was only five when Fernando Alonso won his first world championship in 2005.