Michael Italiano spent five years coaching Daniel Ricciardo. For 2023, the F1 Performance Coach tagged along with Yuki Tsunoda. However, after he bid farewell to the sport at the end of the season, the honey badger was unexpectedly left out of his goodbye letter.
In a post on Instagram, Italiano wrote, “I’ve developed some amazing friendships across my six years in this sport, and I’ll be taking with me some fantastic memories, which I’ll forever be grateful for. Your ongoing support is truly appreciated. Yuki, thanks for the laughs and for placing immense trust in me this year to guide you through your career. Besides your average rapping and dance moves, your development this year is something to be very proud of. I cannot wait to see what you bring in 2024 and beyond.”
Over the years, both Ricciardo and Italiano developed a very close bond. But they chose to part ways after the former’s exit from McLaren. At the start of the 2023 season, it was announced that Italiano would partner up with Tsunoda at AlphaTauri. But when Ricciardo assumed the second seat, eye brows were raised when Italiano didn’t shuffle his side of the garage.
For Tsunoda however, it was to be a turning point in his career. Italiano was handed the reigns of the young Japanese driver. From physical to mental conditioning, he worked extensively with Tsunoda and the end result was arguably the Japanese’ strongest year in the sport to date.
How Michael Italiano helped Daniel Ricciardo overcome his worst phase in life
After Ricciardo was sacked by McLaren at the end of the 2022 season, Italiano had to ensure Ricciardo went through the period, mentally unscathed. However, it was a tough time for him too. He explained on the Pitstop podcast, “I obviously had further endures that I would have loved to achieve with Daniel. I had big hopes that you know. We’re gonna do something great together.”
Naturally, after Ricciardo faced the axe, the two had to part ways. Then, an opportunity at AlphaTauri came knocking for Italiano and he graciously accepted the challenge of conditioning a rough diamond like Tsunoda. After a stellar year, he would be proud of his efforts.
According to veteran F1 photojournalist, Kym Illman, Italiano is now going to ply his trade at the Indian Premier League, one of the world’s top cricketing tournaments.
