F1 News: Yuki Tsunoda ready to make "a lot of improvement" for 2023
Yuki Tsunoda is prepared to make improvements to his driving ahead of 2023, ahead of an important season for AlphaTauri.
The Italian squad has failed to maintain its relative performance from 2021 with these new regulations, finishing in an underwhelming P9 in the standings.
Whilst AlphaTauri was competing for 8th throughout the season, it would be inaccurate to describe this year as anything less than a disappointment.
Tsunoda's development was a positive for the team in 2022, as the Japanese driver showed the necessary pace to compete against his teammate more closely than last season.
In any case, Tsunoda was a disappointed figure after the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi:
"It's been a hard year as a team. We couldn't achieve even P8 in the championship.
"On a positive side, I learned lots of things from it - especially from Pierre, who's leaving.
"It was a pleasure to work with him, and I appreciate the things he achieved [for] the team and also to me."
Looking ahead to 2023, Tsunoda admits that his performance will need to improve with AlphaTauri.
The 22-year-old has shown good pace this year, significantly improving his record against Pierre Gasly in both qualifying and race head-to-heads.
However, Tsunoda is intent on taking another step forward next season:
"Hopefully, the car is good. Of course, for my side, I need a lot of improvement, still.
"At least I have a clear target to progress for the next year, so that's good.
"I will just try to achieve that, and definitely, we'll be back strong in the next year."
Nyck de Vries will join Tsunoda at AlphaTauri next season, presenting the youngster with a new challenge.
De Vries has plenty of experience in other categories, but Yuki Tsunoda will be entering his third season with Alpha Tauri - and thus expected to lead the team.
Red Bull's driver academy has plenty of young talent in Formula 2, so Tsunoda must ensure that his performances secure his future in the team.