De Vries was dropped by the Faenza team last week in favour of Daniel Ricciardo simply 10 races into his rookie season.
Talking forward of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, Tsunoda says he realized lots from the 2020-21 Method E champion regardless of being the extra skilled driver in F1 phrases, particularly by way of how detailed suggestions might be.
The 2013 Rush film highlighted Lauda’s acute sensitivity to the behaviour of each street and racing automobiles, and Tsunoda revealed that De Vries’s feedback carried an identical degree of element.
“Particularly the suggestions after the session,” he stated when requested about De Vries’s suggestions. “Prefer to the crew, how the automobile behaves, it is actually particular.
“I by no means seen a driver like that, he’s saying actually particular [things], describing every element, that are straightforward to know. And yeah, it is actually particular.
“And I can inform like why he had such profitable outcomes previously. It is these locations, which was in all probability a little bit of limitation for me, that I’ve to go a step ahead.
“And doubtless Nyck was a very good instance and good reference on what I’ve to do, so yeah, particularly these locations.”
Requested to elaborate on how a lot element De Vries used to explain the automobile, he stated: “How the automobile behaves via the nook, he begins from like braking, late entry, mid-corner exit.
“Clearly, I am saying that every a part of the corners, how the automobile behaves, however he is slightly bit extra like he says the limitation, but additionally he suggests the form of choices to resolve these points. Additionally for future growth.
Nyck de Vries, AlphaTauri AT04, Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri AT04, depart the storage
Picture by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
“What I bought impressed by most was the final day within the Abu Dhabi take a look at. He drove our automobile and he described how the entrance wing behaves via the nook, and he was saying nearly spot-on, form of in entry how a lot the entrance wing deflected via the nook, and that form of flexion was making our automobile like this behaviour.
“He form of guessed what the entrance wing does and he was spot-on what the form of attribute and what sort of design we’re doing for the entrance wing.
“I simply noticed Rush – Niki Lauda, he stated actually good suggestions concerning the automobile. In all probability he is like a Niki Lauda.”
Tsunoda stated he was engaged on the simulator at Pink Bull in Milton Keynes when he realized of the change of team-mate.
“Christian [Horner] simply instructed me simply earlier than the information,” he stated. “Really once we met in coincidence within the manufacturing unit and he instructed me then, so I did not know till that on that day when crew launched it.
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“There have been rumours already. So I used to be like probably not stunned. However, yeah, nonetheless stunned after I heard. That was fast.
“I messaged him after the information. I did not know like [if] it is good to say or not, however I instructed him like what I felt and I additionally [showed my] appreciation to him. And he gave me a very nice message again.
“So clearly we’re mates. And yeah, he is very nice man and respectful individual. I can respect loads of issues from him.”
Requested if De Vries ought to have been given extra time, he stated: “I feel these 10 races, particularly most of, or a few tracks that, he did not know, so I feel so.”
He added: “I feel he was doing a fairly good job till final time. I can inform from his lap time and the way he behaved within the crew that he was regularly increase his confidence. So yeah, it’s kind of shocking.”