Tsunoda joins Ricciardo, Vettel in Nürburgring show

AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda is to join Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel in a show event at the Nürburgring Nordschleife later this year.

Red Bull third driver Ricciardo and four-time F1 champion Vettel will conduct show runs in F1 cars around the iconic ‘Green Hell’ circuit on September 9 as part of the Red Bull Formula Nürburgring Festival that incorporates the 12-hour race at the German track.

Tsunoda will experience his first taste of the 20-kilometre, 73-corner venue in a Honda NSX GT3 Evo.

“I’ve never driven at the Nürburgring before, so I’m really looking forward to the event in September,” said the 23-year-old Japanese.

“I can’t wait to drive around it in the Evo, which is an incredible car and a proven race-winning machine at the highest level of GT3 competition.

“The Nordschleife is a legendary circuit, I just experienced it on the Gran Turismo video game and already enjoyed it a lot.”

Ricciardo will drive an RB8 as F1 cars take to the circuit in an official demonstration event for the first time in 11 years.

For the first time since leaving Red Bull at the end of 2014, Vettel will drive one of the cars from a team that helped him win his four F1 drivers’ titles. The 35-year-old will get behind the wheel of the 2011 RB7 that will use synthetic, carbon-neutral E-fuel.

Reigning two-time F1 champion Max Verstappen had hoped to be part of the action but was blocked from taking part by Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko.

Verstappen said: “I wanted to do it but I was not allowed by Helmut because he knew that I would try and go to the limit.

“I would definitely love to have given it a go but you need, not the demo tyres but the proper tyres, which they don’t allow.”