Alpha Tauri driver Yuki Tsunoda has said that he has to improve his physical condition if he wants to succeed in F1.
Tsunoda joined Alpha Tauri this season and is currently in his rookie year in F1. The Japanese driver has had a turbulent season. It has taken him time to adjust to the sport but it seems like he is slowly finding his feet. After starting strong in Bahrain in March, he went through a rough patch.
However, since his future with the Italian team was confirmed for 2022, Tsunoda has looked more comfortable in his car. Still, the 21 year old has admitted that he needs to improve in a lot of aspects.
He is 14th in the driver’s standings with 20 points to his name.
Yuki said he was not at his best physical shape in Brazil and it affected him a lot.
🇧🇷→🇶🇦
For sure it was not the race I wanted but lots of things to take for Qatar pic.twitter.com/yVf8i1mi8A— 角田裕毅/Yuki Tsunoda (@yukitsunoda07) November 15, 2021
Yuki Tsunoda was really surprised at the physicality of the F1 cars
Tsunoda moved from the UK to Italy earlier this year to intensify his F1 training. The young driver said he was surprised at the physicality of Formula 1 cars. He was especially surprised at the toll it took on one’s neck.
At Interlagos, he was having discomfort in his shoulders after the race. That is the aspect of his training, he wants to work harder on.
“In Brazil I felt it a little bit – to be honest, not a little bit, quite a lot,” said Tsunoda. “Yeah, it’s not perfect. “Definitely I need to improve physically as well. But I think it’s OK.”
Tsunoda is not the only rookie on the grid this year. Haas driver Nikita Mazepin also agreed that keeping oneself a 100% fit is extremely difficult.
“Physically it’s difficult to train in the gym when you’re flying around so much and your body’s not 100%,” said Mazepin. “But when I’m driving the car, I feel that I’m fit enough to do so. “You have neck problems but that’s about it.” said Mazepin.
