Tsunoda was born on May 11, 2000, inSagamihara,Kanagawa. He attended LCA International Elementary School and Nihon University Third High School before transferring to Wako High School in April 2017. Tsunoda started his studies at the Faculty of Sport Management ofNippon Sport Science University in April 2019 but later took a leave of absence and eventually withdrew to concentrate on his racing career.
Tsunoda started his professional karting career in 2010, joining the JAF Junior Karting Championship, before moving to the regional class in 2013 and to the national class in 2014.[3]
In 2016, Tsunoda graduated fromHonda'sSuzuka Circuit Racing School [ja] in the advanced formula class and became a member of theHonda Formula Dream Project [ja].[4] In the same year he made his single-seater debut in theF4 Japanese Championship with the Sutekina Racing Team for a one-off event inSuzuka. He claimed his first podium with 2nd in the first race and finished 4th in the second race.[citation needed] In2017, Tsunoda started his first full season of single-seater racing in the F4 Japanese Championship while also contesting in the regional East series of theJAF F4 Japanese Championship.[5] AtOkayama, he would win his first race. Tsunoda won the title of the regional championship while finishing third in the national Formula 4 championship.[6] He contested both championships with Honda.[7] Tsunoda continued to race in Japanese F4 in 2018 with the Honda Formula Dream Project team.[8] Tsunoda amassed seven wins and claimed the title during the final race atMotegi, beating rivalTeppei Natori by 14 points.[9]
WithHonda tying up withRed Bull inFormula One, Tsunoda also joined the Red Bulljunior team alongside the Honda programme.[10] At the end of 2018, Tsunoda was announced to joinJenzer Motorsport in the newly announcedFIA Formula 3 Championship.[11] He scored tenth place and his first point during the first race inBarcelona, and ninth in Race 2.[12] More points came inPaul Ricard where he came away seventh in Race 1, but struggled to ninth in Race 2 from second.[13] Tsunoda failed to score points inAustria, but came back during Race 2 inSilverstone with seventh.[14][15] He scored points inBudapest, with ninth and sixth place.[16] InSpa-Francorchamps, he qualified in an astonishing third place.[17] The Japanese racer dropped to sixth in Race 1,[18] but from third in Race 2, scored a breakthrough second place.[19]Monza was fruitful for Tsunoda, finishing fourth on the road but was promoted to the podium following a penalty forMarcus Armstrong.[20] In Race 2, a storming start from sixth moved him to third at the start. After passingFabio Scherer, he would go byJake Hughes on lap 15 and claim his only F3 win of the year.[21][22] He finished ninth in the championship with 67 points, including three podiums and a win,[6] scoring all of the Jenzer team's points during the season. Tsunoda finished 11th at the non-championshipMacau Grand Prix.
Tsunoda also competed forMotopark in theEuroformula Open Championship, following the cancellation of Formula European Masters.[23] After a second-place finish in the first race atPaul Ricard and achieving third place in thePau Grand Prix,[24][25] Tsunoda claimed his maiden championship win in the second race atHockenheim.[26] InSpa-Francorchamps, Tsunoda was involved in a collision with teammateLiam Lawson during the second race, having scored second place in Race 1.[27] He took a double podium during theMonza final round.[28][29] Despite missing two rounds due to F3 commitments, Tsunoda placed fourth in the standings with 151 points, one win and five more podiums.[30]
Before the start of his 2020 season, Tsunoda partook in the2020 Toyota Racing Series withM2 Competition alongsideLiam Lawson.[31] Tsunoda scored one win throughout the campaign, during the second race at the opening round inHighlands Motorsport Park.[32] He claimed two further podium finishes later in the season, landing him fourth place in the championship.[33]
In the beginning of 2020,Honda announced that Tsunoda would joinCarlin to race in theFIA Formula 2 Championship alongside newRed Bull juniorJehan Daruvala.[34] The season was set to start inBahrain, but started inAustria in July due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[35] He topped free practice on his debut, but only qualified 12th.[36][37] His races were disappointing, colliding with Daruvala on the opening lap of the feature race saw him finish last, but recovered to 11th on Sunday.[38] During thesecond Austrian round, Tsunoda stormed to his first pole.[39][40] He would lead the race for much of the race under wet conditions, but encountered a radio problem that delayed his pit stop. He would pit two laps later than expected and drop to fourth place, but fought past theVirtuosi drivers for second place.[41] More disappointment followed as a engine issue saw him drop out of the race on lap 10.[42] Another disappointing round inHungary rewarded him with zero points, with a 16th and 18th place.[43]
Tsunoda qualified ninth inSilverstone, and made a masterclass charge, passingChristian Lundgaard on the last lap for third place.[44] Another sprint race disappointment followed, as he was taken out byCallum Ilott on the opening lap.[45] During thesecond Silverstone round, Tsunoda qualified tenth and moved up to sixth for the feature race. In the sprint race, he remained in third for most of the race, until lap 19 of 21, where the twoPrema drivers ahead collided and promoted Tsunoda for his maiden win.[46] Post-race, Tsunoda stated that "he had the potential for P1 even without late Prema crash".[47] Tsunoda qualified sixth inBarcelona. Tsunoda would briefly lead on lap 30 after a safety car restart due to the frontrunners pitting again, but they caught up on fresher tyres, including fellow compatriotNobuharu Matsushita, and he dropped to fourth.[48] He again finished fourth in the sprint race.[49]
Tsunoda took his second pole of the year inSpa-Francorchamps.[50][51] After a slow pit stop during the feature race, Tsunoda would fall behindNikita Mazepin but fought back to him by lap 20. Mazepin would push Tsunoda wide on the penultimate lap while defending, which earned the Russian a five-second time penalty. Tsunoda would be promoted to the win having finished second on the road.[52] In the sprint race,Tsunoda finished in ninth as a penalty for hitting Ilott at the start saw him drop out of the points due to a time penalty.[53] He secured second in qualifying forMonza.[54] A slow start in the feature race dropped him to fifth, Tsunoda made it up by crossing the line in fourth place.[55] In the sprint race, mechanical woes saw him out early.[56] InMugello, he qualified 11th and finished eighth on the road in the feature race, but was penalised for colliding withDan Ticktum, dropping to 16th. His disappointing weekend continued in the sprint race, as he damaged his front wing hitting the back ofFelipe Drugovich on the fourth last lap, and was forced to pit which dropped him to 20th.[57]
InSochi, Tsunoda claimed his third pole ahead of teammate Daruvala.[58][59] He settled for second place after being overtaken byMick Schumacher, although he would win a battle over Ilott for runners-up position on the last lap.[60][61] In the sprint race, Tsunoda finished in sixth.[62] Tsunoda sat third in the standings heading into the two-month break before the final two rounds, 44 points behind leader Schumacher.[63] InBahrain, Tsunoda spun out on his flying lap, which left him down in last.[64] He made an incredible charge on the alternate strategy, charging to sixth.[65] In the sprint race, Tsunoda suffered a puncture on lap 1 cause by contact withMarcus Armstrong which ruined his race, ending in 15th.[66] He took pole for thesecond Bahrain round.[67][68] Tsunoda had another feature race battle with Mazepin, but the Japanese driver would win out and take another victory.[69][70] In the sprint race, a last lap charge passing Ticktum would seal second place.[71] Overall, Tsunoda took three wins, four pole positions, seven podiums and finished third in the championship with 200 points.[72] He was the best-placed rookie and scored more points than any other driver across the feature races.[73]
Tsunoda replacedDaniil Kvyat and partneredPierre Gasly at theHonda-powered AlphaTauri team for the2021 season.[78] His car number is 22, as he raced with number 11 during karting but the number was taken, hence he doubled it.[79]
At the season-openingBahrain Grand Prix, Tsunoda qualified 13th, despite being second fastest in Q1.[80] He finished in ninth place, having overtakenLance Stroll on the last lap.[81][82] After the race,Ross Brawn, Formula One's technical director, hailed Tsunoda as "F1's best rookie for years".[83] He targeted an appearance in the third qualifying session (Q3) for the next race, theEmilia Romagna Grand Prix, but crashed in qualifying and started the race from the back.[84][85][86] He made his way to ninth place before the race wasred-flagged, but spun after the restart and finished 13th.[87] He qualified 16th for theSpanish Grand Prix and later apologised after questioning whether he and teammate Gasly had "the same car".[88][89] He went on to retire from the race with an electrical failure, his first F1 retirement.[90]
He reached the Q3 for the first time at theAzerbaijan Grand Prix, but crashed in the session, causing a red flag.[91] He finished the race seventh, his best result so far, despite being "mad" after the race due to losing two positions at the red flag restart. Tsunoda crashed again in qualifying at theFrench Grand Prix, was forced to start from the pit lane and finished 13th.[92][93][94] He reached Q3 again at theStyrian Grand Prix, qualifying eighth, but received a three-place grid penalty for impedingValtteri Bottas.[95] He finished in tenth place despite radio miscommunications.[96] He again reached Q3 at theAustrian Grand Prix and achieved his best qualifying result thus far with seventh.[97] He opted for a two-stop strategy and received penalties for crossing the pit entry line, failing to score points with a 12th-place finish.[98] He secured a point with 10th place at theBritish Grand Prix, having started 16th and benefited from a late pit stop fromSergio Pérez.[99][100][101] He again qualified 16th at theHungarian Grand Prix, but avoided the lap 1 collisions and gained fromSebastian Vettel's disqualification to be classified sixth in the race, improving his highest F1 result.[102][103]
Tsunoda qualified 15th at theDutch Grand Prix, but he would fail to finish the race as he retired in the pits with a power unit issue.[104][105] At the following race, theItalian Grand Prix, he collided withRobert Kubica in sprint qualifying and then failed to start the race due to brake issues.[106][107] In the next seven Grands Prix, Tsunoda advanced to Q3 all but once. During theTurkish Grand Prix, he held backLewis Hamilton for numerous laps but a spin later cost him a chance of points and he finished 14th.[108] He started 10th at theUnited States Grand Prix, passed teammate Gasly and finished ninth, his first points since the summer break.[109] He qualified ninth for theMexico City Grand Prix, but was required to start at the back due to taking additional power unit elements.[110][111] He caused controversy for potentially impeding theRed Bull drivers, but was not penalised.[112] In the race, he was eliminated on the opening lap in a collision withEsteban Ocon.[113] A collision withLance Stroll at theSão Paulo Grand Prix resulted in a time penalty and a 15th-place finish.[114][115] He qualified in the top ten at theQatar andSaudi Arabian Grands Prix,[116][117] but failed to score points in either.[118] He apologised for his role in a collision withSebastian Vettel at the latter.[119] He qualified eighth in the final race of the season, theAbu Dhabi Grand Prix; notably, this was the first time all season that he outqualified teammate Gasly, who was eliminated in Q2.[120][121] From this position, Tsunoda finished fourth and gained 12 points, his best ever result.[122][123]
Tsunoda placed 14th in the drivers' championship with 32 points to Gasly's 110.[124]
Tsunoda and Gasly were retained by AlphaTauri for the2022 season.[125] At the season-openingBahrain Grand Prix, Tsunoda qualified 16th and improved to eighth in the race to score four points.[126][127] A fuel issue prevented him from setting a qualifying time at theSaudi Arabian Grand Prix;[128][129] he then failed to start the race after a power unit failure.[130] At theEmilia Romagna Grand Prix, Tsunoda qualified 16th, just ahead of Gasly, and finished 12th in the sprint.[131][132] He made up places in the race and passed Sebastian Vettel late on for seventh place.[133] He described the race as the best of his Formula One career.[134] His first Q3 appearance of the season came at theMiami Grand Prix, where he qualified ninth.[135] However an early pit stop and lack of pace meant that he would slip to 12th at the flag.[136] He scored points for the third time in six races at theSpanish Grand Prix, finishing tenth, having started in 13th.[137]
A streak of twelve races without scoring points followed. Tsunoda hit the wall in qualifying for theMonaco Grand Prix, but manage to get into Q2 and qualify 11th.[138] However, he finished the race 17th.[139] Tsunoda qualified a brilliant eighth at theAzerbaijan Grand Prix.[140] He was running in seventh place until he was forced to pit for repairs after aDRS failure, which led him to finish down in a disappointing 13th place.[141] After starting from the back due to an engine penalty,[142] he crashed whilst exiting the pits at theCanadian Grand Prix.[143] He had further woes at theBritish Grand Prix, first breaking his front wing during the lap 1 chaos and later collided with Gasly on lap 10.[144] Tsunoda finished 13th, later apologised as he ended in 14th place.[145] He qualified eighth for theFrench Grand Prix.[146] However, a first-lap collision withEsteban Ocon resulted in Tsunoda's eventual retirement after a few laps.[147] Having qualified 16th for theHungarian Grand Prix,[148] Tsunoda would struggle in the race, on route to 19th place, two laps down.[149]
At theBelgian Grand Prix, Tsunoda started from the pit lane but managed to charge to 13th place.[150][151] At theDutch Grand Prix, Tsunoda started ninth, but retired with adifferential issue.[152][153] He had stopped at the side of the track and loosened his seatbelts before driving back to the pits, for which he was given his fifth reprimand of the season and therefore a grid penalty for theItalian Grand Prix.[154] At that event, he received two penalty points and another grid penalty for failing to slow foryellow flags in practice.[155] He finished 14th.[156] At theSingapore Grand Prix, Tsunoda qualified tenth.[157] He would lose two places after a slight mistake, before crashing out of the race on his own on lap 35.[158] At his first home race during theJapanese Grand Prix, Tsunoda finished the race in 13th place, ahead of teammate Gasly.[159]
Tsunoda scored a point at theUnited States Grand Prix where he started 19th, gained five places on the first lap and finished 10th.[160] This ended his long streak of not scoring points.[161] He was running 11th at theMexico City Grand Prix but was eliminated in a collision withDaniel Ricciardo.[162] At theSão Paulo Grand Prix, an unusual glitch in the safety car system meant that Tsunoda drove to 17th place, the only driver who was lapped during the race.[163] At the final race inAbu Dhabi, Tsunoda missed out on points with 11th place.[164]
Tsunoda ended the season 17th in the drivers' championship with 12 points to Gasly's 23.[165]
Tsunoda remained withAlphaTauri for the2023 season,[166] partnering rookieNyck de Vries as Gasly left forAlpine.[167] Tsunoda finished 11th at theBahrain Grand Prix; he had a poor start to the race and finished just over one second behindAlex Albon.[168] At theSaudi Arabian Grand Prix, a safety car allowed Tsunoda to make his pit stop and jump up to eighth place. He was later passed by the twoAlpine cars and then byKevin Magnussen with five laps remaining, finishing 11th for the third race in succession.[169] At theAustralian Grand Prix, Tsunoda qualified 12th and ran as high as fifth when the race restarted after the second red flag, but was demoted to 11th when the order was reset after the third stoppage.[170] A penalty forCarlos Sainz Jr. promoted him to tenth, earning his and AlphaTauri's first point of the year.[171] Following the opening races, Tsunoda was praised for his performances.[172]
He reached Q3 for the first time in 2023 at theAzerbaijan Grand Prix.[173] Contact with teammate De Vries in the sprint caused him to hit a wall and eventually retire.[174] He finished tenth in the race to score another point.[175] At theMiami Grand Prix Tsunoda again finished 11th, closely behind Kevin Magnussen, after starting 17th.[176] In theMonaco Grand Prix he advanced to Q3 and was running ninth when he developed brake issues,[177] eventually dropping to 15th.[178] He finished ninth at theSpanish Grand Prix but received a penalty for forcingZhou Guanyu off the track, dropping him outside the points.[179] Tsunoda later described the penalty as "ridiculous" and accused Zhou of pretending to be forced off.[180] At theAustrian Grand Prix, his front wing broke in a collision withEsteban Ocon and he received multiple penalties post-race for track limits infringements.[181]
From theHungarian Grand Prix, Tsunoda was partnered withDaniel Ricciardo after De Vries was dropped by the team.[182] He finished the race 15th, two places behind Ricciardo.[183] He ran as high as sixth during the early laps of theBelgian Grand Prix and finished tenth, scoring his first points since April.[184] Tsunoda was joined at AlphaTauri byLiam Lawson from theDutch Grand Prix onwards after Ricciardo broke his hand.[185] He ended the race behind Lawson in 15th place, having run well in the top 10 during the early stages in a dry-wet race.[186] Tsunoda qualified 11th at theItalian Grand Prix but failed to take the start as his engine failed during theformation lap.[187] He was then eliminated on lap one of theSingapore Grand Prix with damage from a collision with Sergio Pérez.[188] Tsunoda made it to Q3 and qualified ninth at his home race during theJapanese Grand Prix, much to the delight of the Japanese fans.[189] However, he went backwards on race day as he fell out of the points to 12th place at the end, finishing behind teammate Lawson.[190]
At theUnited States Grand Prix, Tsunoda benefitted a position to tenth place afterFernando Alonso retired, and then pitted late on to set his first fastest lap.[191] Having scored his first points since the summer break, this was further aided afterLewis Hamilton andCharles Leclerc were disqualified, promoting Tsunoda to eighth.[192] He started from the back at theMexico City Grand Prix after taking additional power unit elements.[193] After surprisingly made his points midway through the race, his charge halted when he was tagged in a spin byOscar Piastri, and was left to rue what could have been in 12th.[194] InBrazil, Tsunoda was knocked of Q1 in 16th.[195] However, in the sprint, his pace was much more promising, finishing sixth after an overtake on Hamilton.[196] In the race, Tsunoda advanced to tenth early on at the start, but despite a tiny mistake, he was able to secure ninth place.[197] At the season endingAbu Dhabi Grand Prix, Tsunoda qualified in a career-best sixth.[198] Having tried an ambitious one-stop strategy, he led a race for the first time ever. It would not pay off as he hoped, holding off Hamilton for eighth place.[199] Despite unable to help AlphaTauri overhaulWilliams for P7 in the constructors, he earned Driver Of The Day in the season finale.[200]
Tsunoda finished the 2023 season 14th in the standings, with 17 points.[201]
AlphaTauri, which was renamed toRB Formula One Team for the2024 season,[202] retained Tsunoda andDaniel Ricciardo.[203] At the season-openingBahrain Grand Prix, starting 11th,[204] Tsunoda was battlingKevin Magnussen for 12th but was ordered to allow teammate Ricciardo through, in which he expressed his frustration. He crossed the line in 14th, and later divebombed Ricciardo on the cooldown lap to vent further irritation.[205] At theSaudi Arabian Grand Prix, Tsunoda achieved his first Q3 of the year qualifying ninth,[206] but he would slip back on race day, being once again embroiled in a battle with Magnussen to eventually finish 15th.[207] He qualified eighth inAustralia.[208] Nailing his strategy, he crossed the line in seventh place, once again being praised for making "big steps" whilst scoring his first points of 2024.[209][210] Tsunoda made it to Q3 again for his homeJapanese Grand Prix.[211] Despite being stuck in the midfield mid-race, a superb second pit stop allowed him to jump his rivals and finish tenth, becoming the first Japanese driver to score points on home soil since2012.[212]
An unluckyChinese Grand Prix followed, as Tsunoda was tipped into a spin by Magnussen following a safety car restart, which caused the former to retire.[213] The sprint at theMiami Grand Prix saw Tsunoda finish eighth, securing a point.[214] He followed it up with another seventh place in the main race, even finishing in front ofMercedes'George Russell.[215] More points finishes followed from his Q3 appearances, placing tenth and eighth at theEmilia Romagna andMonaco Grands Prix respectively.[216][217] He continued his strong qualifying performances with eighth inCanada.[218] Having run close to teammate Ricciardo, he spun towards the conclusion of the race, leading him to finish in 14th.[219] Struggles followed where Tsunoda failed to score points at theSpanish andAustrian Grand Prixs, despite RB introducing upgrades.[220][221] Starting from 13th at theBritish Grand Prix, Tsunoda took advantage of the inclement weather and secured tenth place,[222] then he backed that result up by finishing ninth at the next race inHungary despite a big crash in Q3.[223][224] He was hit with an engine penalty that confined him to the back of the grid at theBelgian Grand Prix,[225] and struggled with pace to only finish 16th.[226]
A tough outing at theDutch Grand Prix followed starting 12th, where a wrong pit strategy would soon unravel his race and he eventually finished down in 17th.[227] This was followed by back-to-back retirements at theItalian andAzerbaijan Grand Prixs, owing to collisions byNico Hülkenberg andLance Stroll through no fault of his own.[228][229] Starting from theUnited States Grand Prix, Tsunoda would be partnered byLiam Lawson as he replaced Ricciardo.[230] Qualifying 11th for the race,[231] it would be scruffy for him, being jumped by Lawson in the pitstops and later spinning on his own, eventually finishing in 14th place.[232] A frustrating weekend inMexico City Grand Prix followed, crashing out in qualifying and being taken out by colliding rearwards on the opening lap byAlex Albon.[233] Tsunoda got his best qualifying position to date at theSão Paulo Grand Prix, securing third in a rain-hit session.[234] Driving a solid race early on, Tsunoda pitted for wet tyres and was making up ground rapidly but lost out to a red flag brought out byFranco Colapinto, where drivers could make a free pit stop. He eventually finished in seventh place, benefitting a position fromOscar Piastri's penalty.[235]
Tsunoda extended his contract withRacing Bulls for his2025 campaign, partneringFIA Formula 2 runner-upIsack Hadjar.[1] After his early-season performances at theAustralian andChinese Grands Prix—including sixth at the latter sprint—Red Bull opened discussions to promote Tsunoda as a replacement forLiam Lawson at the parent team.[243] He had qualified fifth and ninth, respectively, before being denied points finishes due to strategic errors at both, as well as spontaneousfront wing damage in China.[244][245]
Tsunoda replaced Lawson atRed Bull in a swap deal from theJapanese Grand Prix onwards, partnering defending four-time World Drivers' ChampionMax Verstappen for the remainder of the2025 season.[2]Honda offered the team€10 million to have Tsunoda promoted in time for their home Grand Prix.[246]
^"2019 Round 6 Race 2 quotes".FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 1 September 2019.Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved19 May 2023.
^"Post Race 1 penalties".FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 7 September 2019.Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved19 May 2023.
Japanese
.jpg)
.jpg)
Hitech Grand Prix
