Tsunoda on Ricciardo arrival: “The slower guy won’t make it to Red Bull”

Ricciardo will debut alongside Tsunoda for AlphaTauri, Red Bull’s sister team, at this weekend’s F1 Hungarian Grand Prix as a replacement for the sacked Nyck de Vries.

The veteran Australian’s eventual goal is to earn a Red Bull seat - but his newest teammate also shares that ambition.

“It’ll be clear soon, but either driver will be slower and the slower guy won’t make it to Red Bull,” Tsunoda said in Budapest. 

“That’s easy, the faster guy has more chance to go to Red Bull, it’s how it works in Formula1, that’s it.”

Tsunoda has scored AlphaTauri’s only two points of a disappointing season so far. De Vries didn’t manage a single point in his 10 races, and the team sit at the bottom of the constructors’ championship.

Ricciardo’s high-profile arrival may now pile the pressure onto Tsunoda.

“It’s a challenge always,” the Japanese driver said. “In the end it doesn’t make much difference, Daniel or Nyck, whatever. 

“Anyway I have to do the same thing I was doing to Nyck, you need to beat your team mate, that’s the most important thing.

“Daniel is not an easy driver to beat, but at the same time I’ll do what I did in the last couple of races and it’s clear the faster guy will stay or go up, that’s it.”

Tsunoda has his best chance yet to prove his own mettle if he can edge the more experienced Ricciardo over the rest of this season.

“Yeah I think it’s positive, Nyck came as a rookie and everyone expected me to beat him,” Tsunoda said. 

“That’s the normal thing. Daniel won multiple grands prix and has experience already in this year’s cars, McLaren. 

“I think it’s good for me, but like you say, highly rated, so if I beat him, everyone starts to recognise more than a couple of previous races. 

“But it’s not easy, he’s good, I know he’s good, and once he has confidence in the car I’m sure he will perform like Red Bull. In that case I can learn still, what he’s doing, why he’s able to achieve good results in the past, I can tell from the data, so I’m looking forward to it.”

The news of Ricciardo’s comeback arrived during a tyre test driving a Red Bull after a series of phone calls between Christian Horner and Helmut Marko.

“I was doing the simulator on that day, in Red Bull. Christian just told me just before the news, actually we met by coincidence in the factory, and he told me then,” Tsunoda explained. 

“I didn’t know until on that day there were team releases.

“There were rumours already. I was like, not really surprised, but yeah, still surprised when I heard. It was quick.”

Tsunoda was asked if ex-teammate De Vries should have received more than just 10 grands prix to prove himself.

“I think so,” he answered. “I think just 10 races, especially a couple of tracks he didn’t know. I think so. 

“But at the same time, I know what Red Bull’s side is saying. But at the same time, yeah, I think he deserved at least until the summer break. I was thinking at least that way.”