Yuki Tsunoda said he will be “pushing hard” from the start of his debut season in Formula 1 as he looks to adapt to life with AlphaTauri.

The Red Bull junior finished third in the F2 standings with Carlin last year, impressing with his qualifying pace and overtaking skills.

In total, the 20-year-old earned three victories and four pole positions, finishing behind only Ferrari Driver Academy member Callum Ilott and champion Mick Schumacher, who will race for Haas in F1 this season.

Replacing Daniil Kvyat, Tsunoda will partner Grand Prix winner Pierre Gasly in 2021 and was out on track last week at Imola for some pre-season testing.

Asked whether he felt pressure entering his maiden F1 campaign, he told the AlphaTauri website: “No, not really. This will be my rookie season and I will be pushing hard right from the beginning to adapt to the car as much as possible.

“However, I’m not afraid to make mistakes – I will of course try and limit them – but they are inevitable at the beginning. I am confident I can learn from my mistakes though, as I proved last year in Formula 2.

“I am really happy to have the support of Japanese fans, and I’m proud to be the one to bring another Japanese driver on the grid, after Kamui Kobayashi in 2014.

“As for the pressure, I put it on myself, so nothing changes in that regard for me – I want to push myself to succeed.”

The Japanese driver’s rapid development over the course of 2020 was a surprise to some, given that he had only finished ninth in F3 the season prior.

Explaining why he made such a leap, Tsunoda said that he improved his mentality and psychology.

“Last year for me was a season in which I made a big improvement in all aspects of my job,” he added.

“First of all, in terms of my driving but also in terms of my mentality and psychology regarding how I approached my racing.

“I think I improved a lot during Formula 2. It was a very successful season, one of the best in my racing career.”