Yuki Tsunoda says a 2021 AlphaTauri Formula 1 seat is his ambition in the wake of securing his maiden Formula 2 victory at Silverstone.
Tsuonda, the 2018 Japanese Formula 4 champion, only began competing on the European scene last year, when he finished ninth in the Formula 3 standings.
The 20-year-old is backed by both Red Bull and Honda and made the step up to Formula 2 for 2020, joining forces with Carlin.
Tsunoda took pole position in only his second outing in Austria, and went on to record a maiden podium, and on Sunday picked up the pieces to win after Prema team-mates Mick Schumacher and Robert Shwartzman collided.
Tsunoda holds sixth in the Drivers’ Championship, 46 points behind title leader Callum Ilott.
“For sure I need wins,” he said. “I already lost quite a lot of points at the beginning of the season.
“I think the biggest thing is I need consistency, [in Austria we got] zero points, then the second [race a] podium, and then zero points, now we got a first podium in first place. It’s still not consistent.
“I think for the future this race was a really, really good race for me, good learning, and a good step for Carlin.
“I expect a lot of wins in the future, and to have good points for the drivers’ standings and hopefully I can get [a] seat for 2021 in AlphaTauri.”
Tsunoda has only managed four top 10 finishes this year but of those three have been on the podium, including Sunday’s maiden win.
“I think at the beginning of the season I struggled to keep my front wing until the end of a race,” he joked.
“For that I made a big step from last week, and I didn’t lose it! The race pace, especially from last week’s Feature Race… We had a really good car to manage the tyres and came P3 from P9.
“This weekend it was P10 to P6, always gaining positions. We’ve a really good strategy and a good car. I think for sure, for the future, it’s good for confidence.
“We need to improve our qualifying pace to make the races easier and help take podiums. Still, there’s a lot of things to improve but it’s a good step for Carlin and me.”
