69-race driver admits he’s not ‘fully fallen in love’ with Formula 1 after three seasons

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Reaching Formula 1 requires a huge amount of sacrifice and dedicating your entire life to the pursuit of being one of the lucky 20 drivers on the grid.

Thousands of racers never even get close to reaching that level and will be watching on enviously as the paddock heads to Suzuka this weekend.

However, one driver has told the Formula 1 website that despite being in the sport for several seasons, they’re still not sure if they love it.

Although there are plenty of obvious positives of being a Formula 1 driver, the pressure is absolutely huge.

Every tiny mistake is analysed in great detail and with so many drivers currently on the sidelines, a few bad races and your future is called into question.

While describing some of the positives about Formula 1, Yuki Tsunoda has admitted that after 69 races, he’s still not sure if he’s fallen in love with the sport.

The 23-year-old has yet to experience what it’s like to even finish on the podium in F1, let alone dream about his first win.

And given he’s part of the Red Bull group, he will know first-hand how difficult it is to maintain a career at this level given their previous treatment of other drivers…

Yuki Tsunoda admits he’s not fallen in love with Formula 1 yet

There are examples of other sportspeople not being enamoured by the sports that they play in.

Former Tottenham player Benoit Assou-Ekotto previously admitted he was only a footballer because the money was good.

Although safety levels in F1 have improved vastly – as Zhou Guanyu and Romain Grosjean can attest to after huge accidents in recent years – your life is still on the line at each race weekend.

To take part in Formula 1, you would think that each driver would have to love it, but Yuki Tsunoda has suggested that’s not the case yet.

The Japanese driver is heading to his home race where even more eyes will be on him and the pressure will only be increasing for him to perform.

It appears as though he’s dealing with that well though after starting the season so well this year.

Yuki Tsunoda explains the pros and cons of F1

Asked if he loved Formula 1 already, Tsunoda said: “I’m not sure I’ve fully fallen in love with F1 yet, to be honest!

“I love to drive. I mean, that’s F1, right? I guess, okay, speed. Beautiful hospitality, lovely atmosphere.

“I think also I like the team, I like the fact it’s also kind of teamwork as well. It’s how it looks an individual sport but it’s actually teamwork.”

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What does the future hold for Yuki Tsunoda?

While Yuki Tsunoda may not completely love Formula 1 yet, he’ll be desperate to retain his place on the grid beyond this season.

His contract expires at the end of 2024 and with Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson expected to be on the grid next year, he’s fighting to keep his seat.

Tsunoda was widely praised for his display in Melbourne and that will only help his cause when it comes to contract negotiations.

While he’s not under consideration for a promotion to the main Red Bull team just yet, he’ll want to keep himself in the conversation.

That means continuing to outperform his teammate and scoring points in a field where the bottom five teams appear to be separated from the top five manufacturers at this stage.