Yuki Tsunoda facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Yuki Tsunoda
|
|
|---|---|
| 角田 裕毅 | |
Tsunoda at the 2021 United States Grand Prix
|
|
| Born | 11 May 2000 Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  Japanese |
| Car number | 22 |
| Entries | 95 (92 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 96 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 1 |
| First entry | 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 2019 Monaco Grand Prix |
| 2024 position | 12th (30 pts) |
| Previous series | |
|
|
| Championship titles | |
|
|
| Awards | |
|
|
Yuki Tsunoda (Japanese: 角田 裕毅, Hepburn: Tsunoda Yūki, pronounced [tsɯnoda jɯ̟ᵝːkʲi]; born 11 May 2000) is a Japanese racing driver. He competes in Formula One for Red Bull Racing.
Yuki was born in Sagamihara and grew up in Tokyo. He started kart racing when he was nine years old. Since 2016, Honda has supported him through their racing program. Yuki moved up to junior racing series in the same year. He won his first big championship in 2017. This was the JAF Japan F4 East Series. The next year, he won the F4 Japanese Championship.
In 2019, he joined FIA Formula 3 with Jenzer. He also became part of the Red Bull Junior Team. In 2020, he finished third in his first season of FIA Formula 2 with Carlin.
Yuki made his Formula One debut in 2021. He raced for AlphaTauri with a Honda engine. His teammate was Pierre Gasly. That year, he achieved his best result, finishing fourth at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Yuki stayed with AlphaTauri in 2022 and 2023. He raced alongside Nyck de Vries and Daniel Ricciardo. He continued with the team in 2024 when it became Racing Bulls. In 2025, he was promoted to the main Red Bull team. He started racing for them from the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix onwards.
Contents
Yuki's Early Life
Yuki Tsunoda was born on May 11, 2000. His hometown is Sagamihara, in Kanagawa, Japan. He went to LCA International Elementary School. Later, he attended Nihon University Third High School. In 2017, he moved to Wako High School. He started studying Sport Management at Nippon Sport Science University in 2019. However, he later left to focus completely on his racing career.
Yuki's Junior Racing Career
Starting in Karting
Yuki began his karting career in 2010. He joined the JAF Junior Karting Championship. He moved to regional and national classes in the following years.
Racing in Japanese Formula 4
In 2016, Yuki finished his training at Honda's racing school. He became part of the Honda Formula Dream Project. That same year, he first raced in a single-seater car. This was in the F4 Japanese Championship at Suzuka. He finished second in one race and fourth in another.
In 2017, Yuki raced his first full season in Japanese F4. He also competed in the regional East series. He won his first race at Okayama. Yuki won the regional championship title. He finished third in the national Formula 4 championship. He raced for Honda in both series.
Yuki continued in Japanese F4 in 2018. He raced with the Honda Formula Dream Project team. He won seven races that year. He secured the championship title in the final race at Motegi. He beat his rival Teppei Natori by 14 points.
Moving to FIA Formula 3
Because Honda worked with Red Bull in Formula One, Yuki also joined the Red Bull Junior Team. At the end of 2018, it was announced that Yuki would race for Jenzer Motorsport in the new FIA Formula 3 Championship.
He scored his first points in the first race in Barcelona. He also earned points in Paul Ricard. In Silverstone, he finished seventh. He continued to score points in Budapest.
At Spa-Francorchamps, he qualified in an amazing third place. He finished second in the second race, which was a big achievement. In Monza, he finished fourth but was moved up to third after a penalty for another driver. In the second race, he started sixth and quickly moved to third. He then passed other drivers to win his only F3 race of the year. He finished ninth in the championship with 67 points. He earned three podiums and one win. All of Jenzer team's points came from Yuki that season.
Racing in FIA Formula 2
In early 2020, Honda announced that Yuki would join Carlin. He would race in the FIA Formula 2 Championship with Jehan Daruvala. The season started in Austria in July due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yuki was fastest in practice on his debut. He qualified 12th. His first races were tough. In the second Austrian race, Yuki took his first pole position. He led most of the race in wet conditions. A radio problem caused a delayed pit stop, dropping him to fourth. He fought back to finish second.
In Silverstone, Yuki qualified ninth. He made an amazing charge, passing Christian Lundgaard on the last lap for third place. In the second Silverstone race, he finished third for most of the race. Then, the two drivers ahead crashed, giving Yuki his first win.
Yuki took his second pole of the year in Spa-Francorchamps. After a slow pit stop, he fell behind Nikita Mazepin. Mazepin pushed Yuki wide, which earned him a penalty. Yuki was then promoted to the win.
In Sochi, Yuki earned his third pole position. He finished second after being overtaken by Mick Schumacher. He won a battle against Callum Ilott for second place on the last lap.
In the second Bahrain race, Yuki took pole again. He had another battle with Mazepin and won, taking another victory. In the sprint race, he finished second. Overall, Yuki had a great season. He won three races, took four pole positions, and had seven podium finishes. He ended up third in the championship with 200 points. He was the best rookie driver that year.
Yuki's Formula One Career
Yuki first drove a Formula One car in November 2020. This was during a test session at Imola Circuit. He drove a Toro Rosso STR13. The next month, he tested for AlphaTauri. He also did more tests over the winter.
Racing for AlphaTauri / Racing Bulls (2021–2025)
2021 Season
Yuki joined the Honda-powered AlphaTauri team for the 2021 season. He replaced Daniil Kvyat and partnered Pierre Gasly. His car number was 22.
At the first race in Bahrain, Yuki qualified 13th. He finished ninth, passing Lance Stroll on the last lap. Formula One's technical director, Ross Brawn, called Yuki "F1's best rookie for years." He aimed to reach the final qualifying session (Q3) in the next race. However, he crashed in qualifying at Imola and started from the back. He finished 13th.
He reached Q3 for the first time at the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. He crashed in that session, causing a red flag. He finished the race seventh, his best result so far. Yuki crashed again in qualifying at the 2021 French Grand Prix. He had to start from the pit lane and finished 13th. He reached Q3 again at the 2021 Styrian Grand Prix, qualifying eighth. He finished tenth despite radio problems. He also reached Q3 at the 2021 Austrian Grand Prix, qualifying seventh. He finished 12th.
He scored a point by finishing 10th at the 2021 British Grand Prix. At the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix, he started 16th. He avoided crashes and finished sixth, improving his best F1 result.
Yuki retired from the 2021 Dutch Grand Prix due to an engine issue. At the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, he crashed in sprint qualifying. He then could not start the main race due to brake problems. In the next seven races, Yuki reached Q3 almost every time. At the 2021 United States Grand Prix, he finished ninth, scoring points for the first time since summer.
In the final race of the season, the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Yuki qualified eighth. This was the first time he out-qualified his teammate Gasly all season. From this position, Yuki finished fourth, earning 12 points. This was his best result ever. Yuki finished 14th in the drivers' championship with 32 points.
2022 Season
.jpg)
Yuki and Gasly stayed with AlphaTauri for the 2022 season. At the first race in Bahrain, Yuki qualified 16th. He moved up to eighth in the race, scoring four points. At the Imola, he finished seventh. He called it his best Formula One race. His first Q3 appearance of the season was at the 2022 Miami Grand Prix, where he qualified ninth. He scored points again at the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix, finishing tenth.
He then had a streak of twelve races without scoring points. Yuki hit the wall in qualifying for the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix. He crashed exiting the pits at the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix. He had more problems at the 2022 British Grand Prix, colliding with Gasly. He finished 13th and apologized. He qualified eighth for the 2022 French Grand Prix. However, a first-lap crash with Esteban Ocon caused him to retire.
At the 2022 Dutch Grand Prix, Yuki retired with a car issue. He received a grid penalty for the 2022 Italian Grand Prix for not slowing down under yellow flags. At his first home race, the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix, Yuki finished 13th.
Yuki scored a point at the 2022 United States Grand Prix. He started 19th and finished 10th. This ended his long streak without points. He finished the season 17th in the drivers' championship with 12 points.
2023 Season
.jpg)
Yuki stayed with AlphaTauri for the 2023 season. His new teammate was rookie Nyck de Vries. Yuki finished 11th in the first three races. At the 2023 Australian Grand Prix, he finished tenth after a penalty for another driver. This earned him and AlphaTauri their first point of the year. People praised Yuki for his good performances early in the season.
He reached Q3 for the first time in 2023 at the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. He finished tenth in the race, scoring another point. In Monaco, he reached Q3. He was running ninth but had brake problems and dropped to 15th. He finished ninth at the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix but received a penalty.
From the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix, Yuki's teammate was Daniel Ricciardo. Yuki finished tenth at the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix, scoring his first points since April. Liam Lawson replaced Ricciardo from the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix after Ricciardo broke his hand. Yuki qualified 11th at the 2023 Italian Grand Prix but could not start the race due to an engine failure. He retired on lap one of the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix after a crash.
At his home race, the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix, Yuki made it to Q3 and qualified ninth. This made the Japanese fans very happy. He finished 12th in the race.
At the 2023 United States Grand Prix, Yuki finished tenth. He also set his first fastest lap. He was promoted to eighth after other drivers were disqualified. In Brazil, Yuki finished ninth. At the final race in Abu Dhabi, Yuki qualified a career-best sixth. He led a race for the first time ever. He finished eighth and was voted Driver Of The Day.
Yuki finished the 2023 season 14th in the standings, with 17 points.
2024 Season
AlphaTauri was renamed RB Formula One Team for the 2024 season. Yuki and Daniel Ricciardo remained as drivers. At the first race in Bahrain, Yuki finished 14th. He was frustrated when asked to let his teammate pass. At the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, he qualified ninth but finished 15th.
He qualified eighth in Australia. He finished seventh, scoring his first points of 2024. He was praised for making "big steps." Yuki reached Q3 again for his home race, the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix. He finished tenth, becoming the first Japanese driver to score points at home since 2012.
At the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix, Yuki retired after a crash. In the sprint race at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix, Yuki finished eighth, scoring a point. He then finished seventh in the main race, even ahead of Mercedes' George Russell. He continued to score points in Imola and Monaco. He qualified eighth in Canada but spun and finished 14th.
Yuki struggled in Spain and Austria. At the 2024 British Grand Prix, he finished tenth in wet weather. He then finished ninth at the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix. He had an engine penalty at the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix and finished 16th.
He had a tough race at the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix, finishing 17th. He then had two retirements in a row in Italy and Azerbaijan due to crashes caused by other drivers. From the 2024 United States Grand Prix, Liam Lawson replaced Ricciardo as his teammate. Yuki finished 14th in that race. In Mexico City, he crashed in qualifying and was taken out in a first-lap collision.
Yuki had his best qualifying position ever at the 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix, securing third place in the rain. He finished seventh in the race. He qualified ninth in Las Vegas and finished in the same position. At the final race in Abu Dhabi, Yuki finished 12th.
Yuki finished the 2024 season 12th in the drivers' championship with 30 points. This was his highest ever finish in Formula 1.
2025 Season (Early Races)
Yuki extended his contract with Racing Bulls for the start of his 2025 season. His teammate was Isack Hadjar. He performed well in the early races, including finishing sixth in the sprint at the Chinese Grand Prix. Red Bull then started talks to promote Yuki to their main team.
Racing for Red Bull (March 2025–Present)
Yuki replaced Liam Lawson at Red Bull starting from the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix. He became teammates with four-time World Champion Max Verstappen. Honda offered Red Bull money to have Yuki promoted for their home Grand Prix. He qualified 14th and finished 12th in his debut race for Red Bull. His teammate Verstappen won the race.
He scored his first points for Red Bull with ninth place at the 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix. He qualified eighth in Saudi Arabia. However, he had race-ending damage in a first-lap crash with Pierre Gasly. In Miami, he qualified last for the sprint race. He was promoted to sixth after penalties for other drivers. This was his best result with Red Bull. For the main race, he qualified and finished 10th.
In Imola, Yuki crashed heavily in qualifying. He was forced to start from the pit lane. He climbed 10 places to score his first point for Red Bull, finishing tenth. He qualified 12th in Monaco. He finished 17th after a crash with Gasly. He failed to reach Q2 in Spain. He qualified last and finished 13th.
In Canada, he qualified 11th. He received a 10-place grid penalty for overtaking under red flag conditions. He finished the race 12th. For the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix, Yuki qualified 18th and finished 16th. He received a penalty for causing a collision. At Silverstone, he qualified 12th. He collided with Oliver Bearman during the race, receiving another penalty.
Images for kids
-
Tsunoda racing at the 2019 Spielberg Formula 3 round
-
Tsunoda at the 2022 British Grand Prix
-
Tsunoda at the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix
-
Tsunoda at the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix
-
Tsunoda replaced Liam Lawson at Red Bull from the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix onwards in 2025.
See also
In Spanish: Yuki Tsunoda para niños
