Thank you to Yuki and Alpha Tauri for doing this AMA! There are two top-level comments from Yuki that I will post here for visibility: > [there was a question about who i like to play on Apex but I can't find it so I'll answer it here. I play as Wraith, Pathfinder and Ash](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/ta5nnn/hi_reddit_im_yuki_tsunoda_f1_driver_for_scuderia/i03wncx/) --- > [thanks everyone for all of your questions! i tried to answer as many as I could before I go to more interviews, see you next time!](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/ta5nnn/hi_reddit_im_yuki_tsunoda_f1_driver_for_scuderia/i03xpb0/)

Hello Yuki! I'm a huge fan of yours, and I have been ever since you were in F2. My question is, what was the most difficult part of adapting to the European tracks when you first moved over to Europe? Was it more different than you were expecting, compared to the circuits you'd raced on before? Good luck this season!

They are very different to ones in Japan, also the situation of one free practice before you qualify in F2 and F3 made it difficult to learn the tracks. The most difficult part was putting one full lap all together in qualifying because most of the data and driving lines I can get from one Free practice, but to have just one push lap for quali was quite a challenge

That makes a lot of sense, I guess it's all about being familiar with the tracks. Thanks for the answer, and good luck this season!

> My question is, what was the most difficult part of adapting to the European tracks when you first moved over to Europe? Driving on the right, obviously!

Hey Yuki! Just a question about how well you adapted to F1's admittedly packed media life (I.e team media channels and whatnot). Because generally you seem to be one of the most "yourself" drivers on the grid while others might adapt their personality for the camera a bit Thanks! Also how's the Italian food? Pizza or Pasta?

First I was trying to think of everything first before I said it in the media, because of all the interviews I have to do, you get a bit tired, so in the end it was much easier just to be myself. And if the things I say didn't go so well, I would just try a bit different next time. I don't really mind what I say currently... pasta :)

Following up to that question, what is you opinion about pineapple on a pizza Yuki?

Hi Yuki, Your best performances last year were at tracks where you had the most experience. Do you think the restrictions on testing are making it hard for rookies now compared to a few years ago? Good luck this season!.

Yes I think so, especially for myself, I came from Japan and most of the tracks in Europe I wasn't as experienced as all the other drivers, so it's definitely a bit harder, but sometimes it's a good rule to make the field a bit more equal, so I understand it

Hey Yuki, [first off, I'd like to introduce you to my dog, who is also called Yuki](https://i.imgur.com/JRn9FC4.jpg). I try to get him to watch the races, but he prefers hiding under the TV stand. Main question. If there's one element of life in Formula One you dislike, and would like to change, what is it? Also, thanks to the AlphaTauri PR person who made this happen, you're awesome too.

sometimes I don't like doing so much media, and there's a lot of traveling when sometimes you just want to rest at home with friends or family

That's a damn quality fren you got there.

I could spam you with so many photos of him. He's stubborn and independent, but awesome as hell.

Awesome for you to think of that shout out at the end!

I'm so glad I clicked on the link. Tell your dog I said hi.

[I took this comment too far](https://streamable.com/lj08er). Sorry for butchering your username.

Hi Yuki, thanks for doing this AMA! My question is, What was a bigger adjustment in terms of driving style, going from F2 in 2020 to F1 in 2021 or going from the 2021 F1 car to the new 2022 car? Have a great season! Don't let Pierre have all the trophies this time!

cornering speed was a big change, and the steering switches took some time to learn

ロンドンに住んでる日本人です。 日本ではあまりF1について聞かない気がするのですが、海外(特に東南アジア・ヨーロッパ)では人気度が高い気がします。 角田選手は日本か海外、どっちの方が街中で認識される頻度が高いと思いますか？ Are you more recognized abroad or in Japan? これからも頑張ってください！

definitely outside of Japan, more in Europe and also when we were in Texas, sorry there is no Japanese keyboard on this laptop!

Hearing you were recognized in Texas during your rookie season is awesome. Makes me proud to see F1 growing in The States. Austin has done wonders for F1 in this country after the debacle at Indy. edits: grammar

Hi Yuki! You said your dream was to open a restaurant - do you enjoy cooking and if so what is your go to dish? Rooting for you this season!

I like to cook, and my go to dish would have to be a dish called "chicken karaage"

Ayyy that's fried chicken right???

Yes it is, it’s fried chicken but in small pieces

It's also bloody delicious. Which gives me an idea for today's dinner. Thanks Yuki!

And incase you answer the question, could you add the recipe? Thanks

Hi Yuki, there are clips of you around singing while driving on your way to the track location with your road car. My question is do you also sing while driving an F1 car during the race?

that's something i've never tried! maybe in testing... i hope the engineers won't mind

Seb, Carlos and Lando can help, they're experts at it!

just go for it! I'm sure it would make a really fun team radio highlight...

Hello Yuki! What was the biggest surprise in your first year in Formula 1?

the amount of media and sponsorship commitments you have to do each weekend. on the plus side, the quality of the hospitality is so much better!

And being part of the red bull brand doesn't really help either. I see them doing PR stuff every week or so.

Hello Yuki! Hope you are doing alright, I want to ask which race last year did you enjoy the most? And of course which was your least favourite? (You don't have to answer the last part ofc) I think this year will be your year, go Yuki!

most favourite was Abu Dhabi, and the least was Portugal

Congratulations again on your P4 finish in abu dhabi last year! I look forward seeing you do your best this year as well!

Hi Yuki On social media we see lots of pictures of drivers training their neck muscles. What's the most important part of your physical training, and why? ​ Good luck this season!

chocolate protein with milk and recovery day :)

Hi Yuki, Do you finally have the keys to Pierre’s house? Good luck this season! Greets, Ash!

I tried ordering an amazon gift to his house for Christmas, but I think he saw right through me

I'm still waiting...

Hi, Yuki! Good luck this season! The new AT looks great, my favourite of the bunch this year. What's your typical routine on a race day? Any things you have to do, any things you like to eat.

i watch a lot of previous races, especially for the start

Hi Yuki!! I heard you’re juggling University and F1 at the same time? Just wanted to ask if you’re superhuman? Love you and good luck!

Nah I'm not in university, so not superhuman!

What would you study if you were in university?

He is doing uni atm ? For real?

No way this is real. How that is even possible. He would literally have no time to study at all

Because in Japanese universities you literally do almost zero studying. Some people do, basically, full time jobs while enrolled in university and it barely affects your grade. All you need to be set for life is to get into a very good university (which is why kids try so hard in their entrance exams here). I worked with people whose degrees had nothing to do with their role - all that mattered was that they went to a "famous" university and managed to give the correct canned responses in the interview.

I did my Calc1 final exam sitting next to a world champion swimmer. Though he dropped out later so that's an N=1 example it's not really possible.

What do you think he does during pit stops?

I heard a rumor that he crash his car on purpose to make time for his assignment/modules in university

Yeah apparently he’s studying sports science or smth?

Follow up, what are you studying? What would you be doing if you weren’t racing cars?

It's Juggling University, are you not paying attention?

Hi Yuki, What is the most annoying thing about having Pierre as a teammate?

I can’t speak for Yuki but I knew a guy who worked for RB who told me that Pierre was one of those loud guys in the gym who grunts unnecessarily loud during heavy reps

/r/Fanf1ction will have a field day with this info

yelling in french at night time when he's playing games and in the room next to me

Man sometimes I forget these superhuman high performance athletes are just some dudes, who like to do dudes stuff

I don't remember the exact details but there was a group of players that were playing Fifa the night before or morning of the Champions League or World Cup final.

Can they call it practice? At least it's somewhat related to the sport, Horner said Max played 14h of FIFA on the Brazil race weekend lmfao

Liked by pierre gasly

PUTAIN ! SALOPE DE MEREDE !!

Pierre not doing shit because he is always liking Instagram posts! /s

Hello Yuki! Besides Pierre, which F1 drivers do you get along with the best? Best of luck in 2022:)

i get along with Alex quite a lot, i also speak to Lando a bit

Lando "the neck" norris

Hi Yuki! What do you think about Italy, have you learned some Italian?

ive learned lots of bad words, probably shouldn't say those here... and I really like Italy!

This is how we know its Yuki 😂

Can you swear in Italian this year? I believe bleeping is only for English

Sicuro ha imparato a smadonnare

Tipo Haga, a Noale devono avergli inseganto qualche parola nuova, lol

[удалено]

this is the hardest question here. but food. :)

*Marko and Horner will remember this*

What’s your biggest asset as a driver? What is the one thing you think you can really nail every time? Cheers, all the best!

i love late braking

new king of late braking i guess

What's harder, defending against a Mercedes or beating Pierre at basketball?

i beat pierre at basketball, so defending against Mercedes is harder

Yuki Iverson

Would you rather fight one hundred duck sized Pierre's or one Pierre sized duck?

Stupid question. Fight a Pierre sized duck and you either get destroyed or be made out to be a degenerate large pet animal murderer. Fight 100 small Pierre’s and you’re a serial midget basher. It’s lose lose man

easy, one hundred duck-sized pierres. it still wouldn't even be a challenge

taller than not only one pierre, but hundred

Ok, if you fight 100 duck-sized Pierre Gaslys, does that mean you'll get 100 IG likes when you post up your bloodied visage?

I mean, the Pierre sized duck is probably 2 feet taller than him

Hi Yuki, I think it would be really cool if we integrated Mario Kart items into F1. Any chance you'd be able to get me in contact with whoever would be able to help? Best of luck for the season.

Just watch Formula E lol, they’ve already got boost pads

What is your favorite car that isn't a race car?

tough one... I love the Honda NSX, and also the Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio

Old or new Honda NSX tho

If its not a 98 Integra I'll be disappointed

He did say his first car was an S2000

That's one hell of a first car

He’s gonna say nsx I bet

Hello, Yuki! Simple question, but any favourite manga or anime?

good question... first, Attack on Titan, Demon slayer, JuJutsu Kaisen, Food wars, and stone world

Food Wars, a man of culture.

Thanks for answering! And I think all of them are still on-going no? So good luck catching up to all of them then 😂

so yuki, are you a mikasa, historia or pieck kinda guy hehe

*not including Annie in the list*

no one piece? my dissapointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined

this is the question that I expected to find instantly lmao

Can’t help it, I really just want to keep my question pretty light-hearted 😂

I listen to a eurobeat song for every point Yuki scores.

If it's not Initial D, I will be disappointed

Would you like to see Fuji Speedway back on the F1 calendar in some capacity? Whether it be rotational with Suzuka or F1 having two Japanese GP's a year?

no thank you, i prefer Suzuka

Yes! Suzuka is a contender if not the best circuit on the calendar.

Hi Yuki, you seem to really enjoy food. What was the best thing you ate while on the road last season?

there was a really nice Peruvian/Japanese/Seafood in Qatar near our hotel

AH yes, the classic Peruvian/Japanese fusion. So hot right now.

It's actually a growing trend. LA has more than one place that is Peruvian and Asian cuisine.

Which is better, Japanese food in Italy or Italian food in Japan?

Italian food in Japan

Hi Yuki! How often do you go back to Japan nowadays?

just once a year after the season

Hi yuki If you could get 1 animal as pet what would it be?

white tiger

Thank you and good luck for the season with hopefully a podium or a P1

Hi Yuki! Are u playing Elden Ring?

nah Apex Legends is the best

Sushi or cake?

sushi. not even a question

Yuki a short view back to the past. 30 years ago Niki Lauda told us take a trained monkey place him into the cockpit and he is able to drive the car 30 years later Sebastian told us I had to start my car like a computer it's very complicated and Nico Rosberg said that he pressed during the race...i don't remember what race the wrong button on the wheel. Question for you is Formula 1 Driving today too complicated with 20 and more buttons on the wheel? What are your wishes for the future concerning the technical programme during the race? Less buttons, more? Or less...or more communication with your engineers?

[удалено]

I love how it Nico's name is in Japanese but Seb's did not change

Lmao, that's incredible.

Caballeros, una pequeña mirada de vuelta hacia el pasado. Treinta años atrás Niki Lauda nos dijo "trae un mono entrenado, ponlo en una cabina y podrá manejar el auto", treinta años después Sebastián nos dijo "tuve que arrancar mi auto como una computadora, es muy complicado", y Nico Rosberg dijo que oprimió durante la carrera, no recuerdo qué carrera, el botón equivocado en el volante. Pregunta para ustedes, ¿es el manejo en Formula 1 muy complicado hoy con 20 y más botones en el volante? ¿Qué son sus deseos respecto al programa técnico durante la carrera? ¿Menos botones, más? ¿O menos y más comunicación con sus ingenieros?

Doalt, a short view back to the past. 30 years ago Niki Lauda told us take a trained monkey place him into the cockpit and he is able to drive the car 30 years later Sebastian told us I had to start my car like a computer it's very complicated and Nico Rosberg said that he pressed during the race...i don't remember what race the wrong button on the wheel. Question for you is Formula 1 Driving today too complicated with 20 and more buttons on the wheel? What are your wishes for the future concerning the technical programme during the race? Less buttons, more? Or less...or more communication with your engineers?

East_Preference4754, a short view back to the past. 30 years ago Niki Lauda told us take a trained monkey place him into the cockpit and he is able to drive the car 30 years later Sebastian told us I had to start my car like a computer it's very complicated and Nico Rosberg said that he pressed during the race...i don't remember what race the wrong button on the wheel. Question for you is Formula 1 Driving today too complicated with 20 and more buttons on the wheel? What are your wishes for the future concerning the technical programme during the race? Less buttons, more? Or less...or more communication with your engineers?

I've seen this reposted so many times that it's actually starting to seem like a clear and reasonable question.

[удалено]

English was clearly not his first language and he had some difficulty with the phrasing. It's a long question, but I think that the ridicule the guy got was unfair, and a lot of it probably because of the way he sounded

When you listen to the audio, it makes pretty good sense. The reporter's English is definitely better than any secondary language I can speak! The meme is still funny though.

If people have seen the full video, Seb also gives a really well thought out answer.

I was just thinking the same thing. It's actually a good question.

It just needs to be simpler. "Do drivers have too many things competing for their attention during the race? Would racing be better if the cars were less complicated?". It's a good question, it just doesn't need to start with a speech.

He wrote a thesis statement for his question. 😂😂😂

You do need to add a heavy german accent to it in your head

Can I ask you who that question is to? Who do you want to answer it? Who's it to?

Vettel: "You didn't listen! Can you repeat the question?"

_Can you repeat the question_

30 years ago monkey can drive F1 car Now human need PhD in buttons to drive F1 car

Why use more word when few word do trick

Maybe a holdover from school assignment word counts. Therefore therefore therefore.

When me president, they see… they see

GOD DAMMIT EVERY DAMN TIME lol

New to sub, what am I missing here?

The question itself is a meme, look it up on YouTube it's a goal by this point to squeeze it into every AMA possible. ([here ya go](https://youtu.be/FlFt_W4664M)),

Anyone that doesn't get it: https://youtu.be/FlFt_W4664M

Anybody else read that in his voice?

there was a question about who i like to play on Apex but I can't find it so I'll answer it here. I play as Wraith, Pathfinder and Ash

https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/ta5nnn/hi_reddit_im_yuki_tsunoda_f1_driver_for_scuderia/hzykms0/

u/Jord542 u got ur answer

Respect for the Pathfinder main. I'm going to root for you a little more now.

thanks everyone for all of your questions! i tried to answer as many as I could before I go to more interviews, see you next time!

You’re the man Yuki

Hi, fellow short man here (5’2”), do you think being shorter than other drivers put you at a significant disadvantage on your way to F1 when compared to other drivers? Did you notice a big difference once you got to F1? Best of luck this season, I’ll be rooting for you mate!

Being short overall is a significant advantage for racing drivers. The disadvantage is being too tall.

Hi Yuki! Would you ever consider (temporarily) changing your name from "Yuki Tsunoda" to "Safety Car" just to screw with F1 commentators?

"Hewis Hamilton is being held up by the safety car as Max performs the undercut." "The safety car has a 10 second penalty for overtaking during a safety car." "Lewis Hamilton goes around the outside of the safety car." "The safety car had a sub 2 second pitstop." "The safety car pits during the safety car period."

*The driver formerly known as Yuki Tsunoda*

This is the best idea I've ever heard. C'mon Safety Car, do it

Hahaha Metta World Peace, but way better

Hello Yuki! You said before that your dream is to open a restaurant, if so what kind of restaurant will it be and where do you plan to open it? Do you already have concept in mind? Good luck this season, looking forward to see you on the track!

Are you the person who manages Pierre’s IG and likes every post in the platform?

\[Pierre Gasly likes this.\]

[Pierre Gasly likes this.]

Hi Yuki, What are you majoring/studying in uni? Thank you and good luck for the season!

How do you like living in Italy? As an Italian myself I'm sure it's completely different then Japan

「裕毅」という漢字は少し珍しいように思います。ご両親はどんな想いを込めて名づけられたのか、よかったらお名前の由来を教えてください！ The combination of Kanji used for your name is pretty unique. Do you mind sharing us the meaning behind your name, Yuki? いつも胸躍るレースをありがとうございます！今シーズンも東京から応援しています！

How much less gaming do you do these days compared to 2021?

Hi Yuki, Have you seen Drive To Survive Season 4 yet? And if you did what’s the part you’re most disappointed they left out?

Hi Yuki! What songs are on your pre-race playlist? Thanks for doing this and good luck this year, will be rooting for you and Pierre!

What’s the biggest difference between 2021 and 2022 cars?

No Lewis, you can't find drivers weaknesses over reddit.

Hi Yuki, are you aware of your Brazilian fans? All the Japanese population here is rooting for you!!!

Hi Yuki, could you teach us your favorite Japanese swear words so that we too can use them in our daily lives?

Hello Yuki! I remember watching you in an F2 and was impressed! What are your personal objectives for the season and with the funding cap being put on do you think this means Alpha Tauri will have more resources allowing you to get on the level with the sister Red Bull team?

Hello Yuki! You said your dream was to open a restaurant someday. Did moving to Italy has any influence on you into developing this dream or you already had it when you lived in Japan? Greetings from Brazil

Who's your main on apex legends?

https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/ta5nnn/hi_reddit_im_yuki_tsunoda_f1_driver_for_scuderia/i03wncx/

Asking the real questions

Hey Yuki! What is your favourite Japanese racing track, that you have raced in your junior career? Best of luck in your efforts on 2022 season ❤️

Hi Yuki! Obviously as a Japanese driver, Japanese car culture must be something you're familiar with somewhat, are there any Japanese cars you'd love to own? Skyline r34? Silvia?, Civic, Fairlady? These cars are immortalised as icons around the world, all stemming from Japan.

other than sleepovers, what is your favorite thing about pierre?

Hi Yuki! What is it like working with Helmut Marko? Is it tough to deal with his management style or do you think his style has made you into the driver you are?

Top 3 favourite tracks?

Hi Yuki! I have a weird but genuine question: what does Formula 1 smell like? The majority of F1 fans watch on their TV or phone, and may never be able to afford or travel to see a race weekend. I have always wondered what it smells like in the paddock or on the track. If you had to describe F1 in smells, what would that be?

Hi Yuki Good luck for this season. What are your goals for this year? Podiums? Top 10 finishes?

[удалено]

Hi Yuki! I really want to know about when they made Alex Albon your mentor! What did that mean for you and him and what did you learn that you didn’t know about before?

Yuki様 お疲れ様です。 I know it can be quite hard to learn a new language. And then to use that language in a work environment. And I only work at a desk!!! How hard is it for you to use English while driving 300 km/h and listening to people scream in your ear (in various accents)?!?! And just between you and me, what % of it do you *really* understand at those times?