Yuki Tsunoda has transformed into a more mature driver in 2023. The Japanese race driver has made genuine efforts to improve his driving style and well-being to remain in the AlphaTauri F1 seat.
The 22-year-old was often labeled as an immature, lazy, and unstable driver by critics. However, Tsunoda has taken small steps which are showing legitimate results in the 22-year-old’s growth.
Towards the end of last season, Tsunoda started working with a psychologist to curb his anger issues. He has also hired Daniel Ricciardo’s former trainer, Michael Italiano as his performance coach.
🗣 “One of the limitations is that it starts to get quite overheated especially my brain in the car”
Yuki Tsunoda has been working with a psychologist trainer who was ‘the reason’ Yuki was able to ‘step up to Formula 1’ 👏 pic.twitter.com/KluZqtHNzT
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 7, 2022
The driver’s intent to fight for the seat has impressed team boss Franz Tost. Now, the Austrian even deems the Japanese driver ready for the Red Bull challenge in a year or two.
Yuki Tsunoda to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull?
Tsunoda was infamous for his radio outbursts which created bad press for AlphaTauri. The youngster was sternly prohibited from making such remarks on the radio by team principal Franz Tost.
No wonder the Japanese driver was termed Red Bull’s “Troubled Child” by Helmut Marko. Marko has also warned that the driver needs to improve his performance in 2023, or else he will be replaced by new talents like Liam Lawson, Isaac Hajdar, or Ayamu Iwasa.
Finallyyyy first points of the season! What a race 🤯
Great job from all of the team!
やっとポイントゲット！激しいレースで一時5位に浮上できましたが残念…
チーム全員素晴らしい仕事ができました！ pic.twitter.com/NLWpSb1Dnp— 角田裕毅/Yuki Tsunoda (@yukitsunoda07) April 2, 2023
Since then, the driver has taken his performances pretty seriously. Tost is pleased to see the 22-year-old working hard on himself. He claimed, “Yuki is on the right track. He has improved in every aspect.”
The AlphaTauri boss believes Tsunoda will replace Sergio Perez when his contract expires at the end of 2024. Tost claimed, “In 2024 he should drive again for AlphaTauri. In 2025 I see him finally ready for Red Bull.”
This could see the youngster partner up with Max Verstappen at Red Bull. Verstappen is set to remain with the team until 2028 after signing a 6-year deal in 2022.
Tost pleased with Tsunoda despite AlphaTauri’s poor start
Yuki Tsunoda scored AlphaTauri’s first point of the season in Australia. The Japanese driver claimed P10 in a chaotic race that saw 8 cars retire. However, this doesn’t tell the entire story,
AlphaTauri has a terribly slow car this year and has struggled for pace this season. Tsunoda and Nyck De Vries finished P11 and P14, respectively, in the first two races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Despite the lack of performance, Franz Tost is pleased with the Japanese driver so far. He said, “Yuki drove two extremely strong races so far. I am very happy with him. It’s not his fault that we aren’t competitive yet.”
one of the BIGGEST Tsunoda Tsends you’ll ever see 🔥
P13 ➡️ P5
— Scuderia AlphaTauri (@AlphaTauriF1) April 4, 2023
In Australia, the 22-year-old claimed he struggled with tire temperature before the race restart. He also managed to jump from P13 to P5 upon the race restart. Sadly, the Japanese driver lost the position due to the grid being reset.
He said, “It’s a shame we lost P5 because, going into Turn 1, I managed to overtake several cars. On the positive side we scored a point, so we will continue to work hard to score more in the coming races.”
Tusnoda also managed to keep the McLaren of Oscar Piastri behind him for a good amount of time. The Japanese driver claimed he accomplished the feat by rewatching Fernando Alonso’s defensive driving during the 2021 Hungarian GP, where the Spaniard managed to hold back the much faster Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton.
