In his rookie season, Yuki Tsunoda developed a reputation for being short-tempered, as evident by his frequent outbursts on the team radio. Over the years, however, the Japanese driver has learned to be more mature with his approach, which is what has improved his performance considerably.
Tsunoda spoke about the same in a recent episode of the Sky Sports F1 podcast with hosts Matt Baker and Harry Benjamin. He took last weekend’s Emilia-Romagna GP as an example, detailing his pursuit of Williams driver Logan Sargeant.
Tsunoda admitted that he learned how to use the radio button of his car properly. A few years ago, he would have lashed out on the radio, frustrated at being unable to overtake a car that was faster on the straights. But in Imola, he kept his calm and completed the move after waiting for Sargeant to make a mistake.
“I started how to properly use the radio button. First two years, I was like, ‘Ah it’s the radio button it’s for like just swearing’, but recently I figured out how to use it properly for the team, giving feedback (which benefits the team).”
Tsunoda’s habit of swearing in his rookie season in 2021 (and a little bit of 2022) did not sit well with the Red Bull bosses, with Helmut Marko often calling the 24-year-old out. Tsuonoda’s impatient behavior often led to mistakes, which he realized with time.
Today, he competes with a more collected mindset. And his stocks have risen tremendously over the last year, thanks to his strong results for V-CARB (formerly AlphaTauri).
Yuki Tsunoda’s rise through the years
In his first two seasons in F1, Yuki Tsunoda was teamed up with Perre Gasly, and more often than not, the Frenchman outperformed him. There were reports of Red Bull considering a switch, but reportedly due to Tsunoda’s ties with Honda, the Milton-Keynes-based outfit continued to trust the Japanese driver.
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Fast forward to 2024, and Tsunoda is one of the brightest talents. He was even in contention for a Red Bull seat when Sergio Perez’s misfortunes gave birth to sacking rumors of his own.
At V-CARB he has outperformed both of his last two teammates – first Nyck de Vries and now Daniel Ricciardo. However, with Honda’s association with Red Bull and V-CARB ending, Tsunoda knows he has to prove himself more to continue with his stint or land a seat elsewhere.
