It was a quiet evening in Faenza when Yuki Tsunoda powered on his home simulator. He’d had a rough week—mistakes on track, criticism piling up. The young Japanese driver, still in his rookie season with AlphaTauri, knew he had to improve. But beyond the circuit, he found an unexpected ally: simracing.
Many would assume simulators are just a form of entertainment, but for Tsunoda, they became a lifeline. “I’ve been doing a lot of laps… it’s not the same as Red Bull’s big simulator, but it’s the most realistic one I’ve ever used,” he once said with his trademark honesty. That night, like many others, there were no cameras, no engineers—just him, the steering wheel, and a digital circuit that demanded his best.
The Sim Becomes the Sanctuary
Tsunoda installed a professional simulator in his home during his debut season, aiming to polish the details that often slip away in the chaos of a Grand Prix weekend. He reviewed incidents, analyzed decisions, and most importantly—he learned. It became his way of reinventing himself away from media noise. As the saying goes, “Repetition is the mother of mastery,” and Tsunoda took it to heart.
That discipline came to light before the 2021 Turkish Grand Prix, a circuit he had never raced on before. But thanks to simracing, he wasn’t flying blind. He simulated an entire race weekend with his engineer: practice sessions, qualifying, race—all from his living room. This quiet, almost obsessive discipline didn’t make headlines, but it became part of the fabric he was weaving as a driver.
Beat The Pro
Simracing wasn’t just a technical tool—it became a bridge to the fans. In 2021, when the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka was canceled due to the pandemic, Red Bull and Gran Turismo organized the Beat The Pro event. Tsunoda set a lap time at Suzuka using a Honda NSX in Gran Turismo Sport.
The concept was simple: challenge the world to beat his lap.
Thousands accepted. Yuki didn’t just lend his name—he got fully involved, becoming the “pro to beat.” It was a nod to his Japanese roots and a sign that motorsport could survive even without real engines roaring.
This event revealed another side of Tsunoda—approachable, competitive, and playful. He didn’t need a helmet or a podium to connect. One perfect virtual lap and a smile shared on social media were enough. The event was a hit, reaffirming that the future of racing also runs on pixels.
The Test That Opened the Red Bull Door
Simracing didn’t stop there. In late 2024, Red Bull—always focused on performance—called him in to test the team’s main simulator. It was a quiet test, no cameras, no fanfare. Just Yuki, a virtual car, and a huge opportunity. He impressed—not only with lap times, but with technical feedback and sharp insight.
“We put him in the simulator two or three times, and those sessions were very good,” said Helmut Marko.
Tsunoda had crossed a barrier. He wasn’t just fast on the real track—he was fast in the virtual world, too. That performance helped unlock his promotion to Red Bull for the 2025 season.
Bridging Brands and Realism
In 2023, Tsunoda took part in a demonstration with Immersive Esports, showcasing his skills on a high-end F1 simulator. It wasn’t acting—it was muscle memory and real reflexes. In other moments, through Honda or AlphaTauri campaigns, he was seen testing simulation pods or participating in brand activations, showing his more relatable side.
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Even though he hasn’t become a regular simracing streamer like Lando Norris, Tsunoda has maintained a consistent presence in the simracing ecosystem. His sessions have been shared on official channels, and sometimes by fans spotting him in iRacing or similar platforms. In fact, before his F1 debut during the 2020 lockdowns, Red Bull provided him with an iRacing account to train and gain digital racing experience.
More Than Just a Game
For Tsunoda, simracing has been a tool, a platform, and a mirror. When real-world results fell short, he could always return to the (virtual) wheel to rebuild. That persistence is part of his DNA. Maybe that’s why he connects so deeply with younger fans—because he’s not afraid to show that training can also mean playing, that even pros fall and get up—lap after lap.
"I didn't expect the amount of acceleration they have." ⚡️
Formula 1 driver @yukitsunoda07 joined us ahead of the #TokyoEPrix for a spin on the sim and to preview the track 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/pOSAWUiMS8
— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) March 30, 2024
Now, as a Red Bull Racing driver in 2025, it’s easy to look back and see that his journey wasn’t just paved in asphalt and fuel. There were also wires, screens, and long nights in the simulator. Simracing was more than a hobby. It was a space where Yuki Tsunoda found confidence, refined his craft, and proved that sometimes, to be the fastest in the real world, you first have to win in the virtual one.
While we don’t know exactly which simulator and setup Yuki Tsunoda uses at home for his training, we’ve gathered some similar components that he’s been spotted using in a few videos.
- Racing Wheel: Clubsport Racing Wheel F1
- Base: Clubsport Racing Wheel F1
As always, we’ve also included a look at the sim racing setups of other drivers on the grid.
F1 drivers simulators:
- Lando Norris
- Charles Leclerc
- George Rusell
- Carlos Sainz
- Checo Perez
- Fernando Alonso
- Antonio Giovinazzi
- Max Verstappen
- Oscar Piastri
- Liam Lawson
See you on the track!
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