Apr
At AlphaTauri for 2023, Nyck de Vries will be working alongside Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese racer, who had a tight relationship with former colleague Pierre Gasly, has shared how the two are getting along.
According to Yuki Tsunoda, his friendship with Nyck de Vries is “distinguished” from the one he had with his previous teammate Pierre Gasly.
De Vries, a Dutch driver with titles in Formula 2 and Formula E, was given his full-time F1 debut with AlphaTauri for 2023.
Although Tsunoda and Gasly had a tight relationship, the Japanese racer claims that he is also getting along with de Vries.
Tsunoda said on the Beyond The Grid podcast, “It’s good with Nyck.”
“We were already friends before being together in a team. We are already friends from maybe three years ago. First time we met was on a flight to Monaco. I knew Nyck since karting.
“I’d seen from magazines that Nyck was winning a lot of championships, so I knew about him. But I never reached him, and the first time was from him, when I got pole position in Formula 2. He posted on Instagram and said congratulations.
“I didn’t expect that and since then, I saw more about Nyck, and we talk a bit on Instagram. We were never able to speak in person until three years ago in Monaco.”
Learning from De Vries
Tsunoda says that in addition to getting acquainted with de Vries, he is also picking up useful knowledge from him.
“At street circuits, he’s always nailed getting very close to the wall, which I think he’s got from Formula E,” he said.
“I’m also impressed with the feedback he gives the team. He’s really specific in giving us a lot of information about the car. I learned a lot from him and I’m still learning from him.”
A relationship with Gasly
Tsunoda acknowledges that his connection with de Vries and his “brotherly” one with Gasly are not quite the same.
“It’s definitely different. Pierre was more like a brother, just really fully open,” Tsunoda said.
“Maybe sometimes it was too open. I just feel really, really comfortable with Pierre. With Nyck, we still have a good relationship. We joke with each other.
“I wouldn’t say like a brother but he’s a really, really good friend. I went with him for lunch, and we explored Melbourne.
“When [I see Gasly] at the track, we say hi. He’s living in Milan, so any time I can text him and we can go for food.”
Tsunoda made the argument that there is no evidence to support the idea that teammate conflict enhances teammates’ abilities.
“As soon as we wear the helmet, we’re just rivals,” the 22-year-old added.
“I don’t think it’s necessary to have tension between us. We’re automatically going to be in the zone that teammates are one of the drivers we want to beat most.
“We’re going to have that kind of mindset anyway. It’s much easier to just be normal friends rather than ‘driver friends’.”
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