Yuki Tsunoda has expressed that he senses he has developed into a “more complete” individual both inside and outside the car since his debut Formula 1 season in 2021.
Tsunoda made an instant impression in his maiden F1 race with Red Bull’s sister squad, then known as AlphaTauri, in Bahrain in 2021 as he secured two points with ninth place.
However, that preceded several incidents over the remaining races which prompted him to even concede that he was surprised that he was retained into the next season.
But having survived that, Tsunoda delivered on Red Bull’s trust as he produced his most productive campaign to date last term, culminating in his earliest-ever contract extension at June’s Canadian Grand Prix.
Tsunoda outclassed the more established Daniel Ricciardo, who was dropped with six races to go, as he contributed 30 of the 46 points that RB, now Racing Bulls, amassed.
Asked to pinpoint the main differences between the Tsunoda that entered F1 when he was 20 and the one in 2024, he told Motorsport Week in an exclusive interview: “It’s more controlled. Just the general complete driver, as emotionally, consistency, energy efficiency, everything.
“I feel like compared to 2021 as a person as well, not just inside racing, also outside racing, I feel just a different person in a good way, I would say. More calm, yeah.”
Tsunoda’s approach remains unchanged
Ricciardo’s demise witnessed Liam Lawson be promoted in his place, prompting Tsunoda to become, in race-start terms, renowned as the team leader within RB.
Tsunoda is poised to command that role again this season as Lawson’s move up to the senior Red Bull setup has seen rookie Isack Hadjar take the seat he has vacated.
But despite Racing Bulls boss Laurent Mekies stating that he holds the experience and qualities to be a leader, the Japanese driver denied he has altered his approach.
Questioned on whether he had adapted his processes on race weekends amid the change in the opposite garage, Tsunoda responded: “Pretty much the same thing, but for sure I want to be more focused emotionally and also knowing that having responsibility as an emotional control, that will affect more towards the team as well.
“But also, it was like that already from, I would say, [the] first races. There was not a specific team leader, and I think even now as well, even [when] Liam came, there’s not any team leader. So I was just trying to do what I was doing previously, and just focus on what I have to improve.”
The attention to ’emotional control’
Tsunoda mentioning a desire to improve upon his “emotional control” comes amid his declaration that the propensity earlier in his F1 career to launch into expletive-ridden radio outbursts created a negative “image” that has remained attached to him since.
That reared its head again at the season-opening race in Bahrain when Tsunoda was angered with a team order to let Ricciardo, who was in a better position to chase down a points finish on fresher rubber, go through.
However, that inspired to be a turning point as he then cut a more calm and composed figure behind the wheel, a change which he admitted was much-needed at a time when RB encountered complications with misfiring updates which derailed its competitiveness.
“Not really,” he said when asked whether he had to contain his frustration as RB’s earlier-season momentum stalled. “Obviously, it’s probably slightly harder, but at the same time, it’s a time also that I can kind of face the team in the same direction, or come there, come to yourself.
“But at the same time, sometimes it gets also still pissy, and I get really frustrated, which I want to improve still. But yeah, I mean, still motivated, you know? At the same time, [every] upgrade [that] is not having a step as we want, but still we see a lot of steps in each upgrade. So every time we’re able to fight closely to P10 anyway, that gives motivation and kind of resets every Grand Prix to always score points.”
Tsunoda expecting ‘small steps’ in 2025
An extensive soul-searching period which comprised mixing and matching various parts on the VCARB01 inspired an eventual return to the points, though it was not enough to avoid the team slipping back to eighth in the Constructors’ Championship.
Looking ahead to the upcoming season, Tsunoda anticipates that the current ground effect cars now being at a mature stage, coupled with an impending regulation change, will see limited progression compared to the performance seen in 2024.
“So 2025, I think, anyway, most of the teams won’t have a big step as a car because we’ve been in this car the last few years, or the last two years,” he explained.
“Most of the team had a lot of upgrades, and I think it’s coming to the point that most of the teams, even if they have upgrades, it’s going to be a small step. So hopefully we can have a good car, create a good car with upgrades, and again we can have a hopefully good start again in 2025.”
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