Yuki Tsunoda to make Nurburgring history as Red Bull add to incredible driver line-up

Mark Scott
Yuki Tsunoda to tackle Nurburgring. June 2023

Yuki Tsunoda will become the youngest-ever driver to tackle the iconic Nordschleife circuit after being added to the Red Bull Formula Nurburgring line-up.

The AlphaTauri driver, 23, is currently in his third season with the team and will join Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo on September 9 for what promises to be an unforgettable event.

Tsunoda will be driving the HONDA NSX GT3 Evo, complete with AlphaTauri livery.

“I’ve never driven at the Nürburgring before, so I’m really looking forward to the event in September,” Tsunoda said.

“I can’t wait to drive around it in my HONDA NSX GT3 Evo, which is an incredible car and a proven race-winning machine at the highest level of GT3 competition.

“The Nordschleife is a legendary circuit, I just experienced it on the Gran Turismo video game and already enjoyed it a lot.”

A crowd of at least 30,000 are expected to attend the event which will also see Vettel reunited with his RB7 and using a synthetic, carbon-neutral E-fuel to power him around the incredible 73-corner circuit.

Red Bull reserve and development driver Ricciardo will also be in action, while fans will also get to see the 12-hour race of the Nurburgring Endurance Series in all of its glory.

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A timely reward for Yuki Tsunoda?

Yuki Tsunoda’s progression and maturity at AlphaTauri has been one of the more understated storylines of the F1 2023 season but that doesn’t make it less interesting as a result.

It’s hard to imagine Tsunoda being granted this opportunity in either his first or his second season with Red Bull/AlphaTauri, so there is some significance to this announcement.

It highlights a strong element of trust now between team and driver, confident that he can put on a good show on a circuit that is one of the most loved, but most feared tracks in the world.

With Tsunoda recently declaring he isopen to leaving the Red Bull familyin future and pursuing his own F1 adventures with another team, perhaps an opportunity like this has come at the perfect time to remind him that there is still plenty of life left with the team.