Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda’s time together at RB was short. Ricciardo joined towards the end of the 2023 season and was sacked midway into 2024. However, he formed a close bond with his teammate, who became a more balanced driver. Tsunoda even credited Ricciardo with bringing about a much-needed and very positive change in him during this period.
The 24-year-old recently spoke about Ricciardo‘s calmness and level-headedness, which is something he learned a lot from. “Daniel is just very consistent,” the Japanese driver said on The Red Flags Podcast.
“Even if he had a bad session or, you know, he had big mistake, he’s just completely normal person or like completely just normal driver who had just a normal session every time in the engineer meeting and he just gives very specific feedback.”
Tsunoda gave Ricciardo a tow in qualifying because he’s starting from the back of the grid.
That teamwork ❤️ pic.twitter.com/fNNa8ONp7p
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) October 28, 2023
When he compared it to his own approach, he found differences, which is why he would often shadow Ricciardo to improve his own quality of feedback.
“I was I was looking all the time his face like surely at some point he gonna show his face that he’s very mad but never. So I was like he’s a different animal,” Tsunoda added.
Early in his career, Tsunoda developed a notorious reputation for his feedback, often making heated, snarky comments over the team radio that contributed to his image as an angry and overly emotional driver. However, Ricciardo, with his wealth of experience, helped him change that—a shift for which Tsunoda is truly grateful.
What will life be like for Tsunoda without Ricciardo?
Over the last year, Tsunoda has definitely mellowed down, which has shown tangible results on the track. Moreover, his radio exchanges with the team have also been more PG — no more X-rated rants with strong language, that often landed him in trouble. As Tsunoda admitted, this boiled down to the influence Ricciardo’s presence had on him.
Alas, all good things come to an end, as did Ricciardo’s time in F1. After the Singapore GP, RB sacked him to make way for Liam Lawson, who has now been pitted against Tsunoda to potentially audition for Sergio Perez’s Red Bull seat.
The relationship with Lawson would understandably be different, as both are young drivers chasing something much bigger than holding on to an RB seat. As of now, life is easier for the New Zealander, who looks to be the favored choice for Red Bull, who has never really considered Tsunoda for the main seat too seriously.
