P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Yuki Tsunoda has credited outgoing AlphaTauri Formula 1 Team Principal Franz Tost for always believing in him and keeping him
Yuki Tsunoda struggled in his debut F1 season in 2021 but was surprised when AlphaTauri chose to keep him for the following year. However, with the departure of Pierre Gasly and the arrival of Nyck de Vries, Tsunoda showed significant improvement in 2023. Despite a tough start, Tsunoda thrived and scored 14 points in the last five rounds of the season. Tsunoda praised Franz Tost, his team principal, as his biggest supporter and credited him for his development as a driver. Tost, who has been in charge of the Red Bull-owned team for 18 years, believes that newcomers to F1 need three seasons to show their abilities, a sentiment Tsunoda agrees with based on his own experiences. Tsunoda’s performance, along with Daniel Ricciardo’s, helped AlphaTauri climb to eighth in the Constructors’ standings. The team will undergo a rebrand for the 2024 season and will have a closer technical collaboration with Red Bull. Laurent Mekies will replace Tost as the team principal, with Peter Bayer as the CEO.
