Tsunoda: Verstappen best driver on the grid, next to me

Yuki Tsunoda is on his second season in F1 with AlphaTauri, after a rookies season that started promisingly in the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix with a points finish on debut for the team, but then turned into an erratic, error-marred campaign by the Japanese driver.

Asked in an interview with RacingNews365.com about his hoped for the future of his career, Tsunoda said: "Of course, [I want to become] World Champion.

Becoming a World Champion would probably require a move to AlphaTauri's sister team Red Bull, where he will most probably be alongside Max Verstappen, and Tsunoda said: "It would be nice driving with him.

"I think [he is] currently the best driver on the grid – next to me! [I have been able to] learn lots of things [from] him when I got to Red Bull. If I was to drive with him that would be good.

"Of course, to be World Champion, I have to beat him. If I beat him, you can feel like one of the best drivers in Formula 1.

"Max is kind of the target of what I have to aim for, or the reference driver I have to aim [for]. Hopefully I can drive with him in the future for the same team," the AlphaTauri driver mused.

As for his current teammate, Pierre Gasly, Tsunoda admits to learing a lot from him, saying: "Of course, [with] the driving, I learned a lot of things.

"But especially, I learned lots of things outside of racing, like how he is behaving or how he prepared for the race," he went on. "Last year, [there] was a big difference at the beginning of the season, [in] how he was preparing for the season.

"Those things I learned a lot. Those details make me improve as a driver. We also have a good relationship outside of racing, so that's good," the Japanese added.

Tsunoda seemed to have turned a corner in 2022, after his shenanigans from his rookie season, and he credits that to a change in scenery.

"It has helped me that I now live close to the AlphaTauri factory [in Faenza]," he claimed. "Whether a race went well or not, I can visit the factory immediately after the race to find out the reasons for it and then use that experience for the next race.

"We can respond quickly to everything. For example, if I have problems with my seat, I can then be there within five minutes to do a seat fitting.

"But I can also go to the gym or meet the staff naturally and spend time with them. That way, you can feel the atmosphere and the emotions of those people, and those things are definitely good for me," Tsunoda pointed out.

However their might be a downside to living in Italy, as the 22-year-old joked: "Maybe there's one [bad] thing – if I'm training lazily, Franz [Tost, AlphaTauri Team Principal] is going to see!"

Tsunoda has fared better against Gasly in 2022 so far, as he currently sits 12th in the Drivers' Standings with 11 points as Gasly is down in 14th, with six points.