Formula 1 superstar Yuki Tsunoda explains why he’s jealous of ex-teammate Nyck de Vries ahead of home race

Formula 1's Yuki Tsunoda is back in Japan, and has a reason to be jealous after checking out one of motorsport's other top series.

Tsunoda, the VCARB Red Bull driver, is a megastar in his home country so fans were delighted to see him on track for the Tokyo Formula E race.

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The 23-year-old’s former teammate and 2021 FE champion, Nyck de Vries, was back on the grid for the race, and Tsunoda had to admit a brief moment of envy during a week of motorsport action in Japan.

“I’m excited, Suzuka is my home Grand Prix and my favourite track,” he said. “But at the same time I’m very jealous that Formula E is able to do events like this in the middle of Tokyo, that’s another story but I’m still very excited for Suzuka.”

Does Tsunoda want more street tracks like the 2026 Madrid race, though? Well not exactly.

He explained: “To be honest I’d like to keep the old school tracks like Suzuka and Spa as much as possible. 

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“I know street circuits give a different taste and bring in new people, but at the same time we don’t want to have too many. I think right now the balance is very good so hopefully we can maintain it.”

Tsuonda also managed a chat with his former teammate and Mahindra driver De Vries.

“It was a good catch up with Nyck,” he said. “He’s definitely doing a very good job this year and last year as well. He’s still developing the car but he’s still a very fast driver and his feedback is always amazing.”

Despite De Vries superb record with championship wins in both FE and Formula 2, his F1 career only lasted ten races.

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The Dutchman started the season as Tsunoda’s teammate at Alpha Tauri, but was brutally replaced midway through the season by Daniel Ricciardo.

Ricciardo didn’t fare much better, getting points on the board in just a single Grand Prix, and the story hasn’t been too different this term.

With suggestions that Ricciardo and Tsunoda are auditioning for a spot as Max Verstappen’s teammate at parent team next season, plenty is at stake for the pair.

Tensions have already boiled over at the season-opener in Bahrain when the Japanese driver had to make way for the Australian, and then brake checked him after the flag.

Tsuonda, though, insists all is well between the two, adding: “He’s very funny, he gives a lot of brightness to the team and I definitely respect him. 

“There’s a lot I can learn and I think he’s kind of the opposite to me, outside of the track. His maturity and consistent mindset that he has. 

“As teammates we’re working really well and sharing lots of opinions about the car and so far the whole team’s happy so hopefully we can continue like this.”

He continued: “So far I’m pretty happy [with my season] also the car’s performance, it’s very consistent through three completely different tracks.

“We’re able to be around the top 10 so I have some confidence around the coming races and hopefully at Suzuka we can have a good performance. We’ll keep doing what we’re doing and hopefully we can develop much more and even fight against the top five teams.”