Yuki Tsunoda joins AlphaTauri to replace Daniil Kvyat and become first Japanese driver in F1 in seven years

Talented F2 driver steps up as the first driver in Formula One to be born this century

Yuki Tsunoda will make his Formula One debut next year racing for Scuderia AlphaTauri.

The talented 20-year-old driver will partner Pierre Gasly in 2021 after a promising Formula Two campaign in which he reached the podium seven times.

Tsunoda, who secured two feature race wins and a sprint race victory, will replace Daniil Kvyat and become the first Japanese F1 driver since Kamui Kobayashi took part in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2014. He will also become the youngest driver on the F1 grid next season as the first to be born this century.

"Like most racing drivers, it has always been my goal to race in Formula 1, so I am very happy with this news," Tsunoda said.

"I want to thank Scuderia AlphaTauri, Red Bull and Dr (Helmut) Marko (Red Bull motorsport advisor) for giving me this opportunity, and of course everyone from Honda, for all their support so far in my career, giving me great opportunities to race in Europe.

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"I must also thank the teams that I have raced with to get to this point, particularly Carlin, with whom I have learned so much this year.

"I realise that I will be carrying the hopes of a lot of Japanese F1 fans next year and I will be doing my best for them too."

Scuderia AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost added: "Red Bull has been following Yuki's career for a while now and I am sure he will be a great asset to our team. Watching him in Formula 2 this year, he has demonstrated the right mix of racing aggression and good technical understanding.

"During the test in Imola in November when he drove our 2018 car, his lap times were very consistent over a race simulation, he progressed throughout the day and gave our engineers useful feedback.

"In addition, his integration with the Honda engineers has been seamless, which certainly helps. At the test in Abu Dhabi this week, he proved to be a fast learner and that he is ready to make the step to Formula One."

PA