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Yuki Tsunoda believes that Daniel Ricciardo has been responsible for impacting his mindset as a race car driver. Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda in Monaco, the RB driver suggested that his experienced teammate had influenced his mentality and ability to control his emotions.
Starting the 2024 season in a more competitive form, Tsunoda has managed to have a calmer mindset. Known for his furious radio messages and feisty temperament, the Japanese driver has been calmer eight races down the line. On his relationship with teammates and F1 peers, he felt that Pierre Gasly and his current teammate are two people that he has learnt from. It seems to him that he gained self-control, consistency, and the ability to provide the team with feedback.
When asked by Sportskeeda about his relationship and rapport with his current teammate compared to previous ones, Tsunoda said:
“Current teammate with Daniel, what I will say is if I have to chose two drivers that I learnt a lot of things, is Pierre and probably Daniel. And with Daniel for sure what I learnt from him for sure is self control which gave me extra boost to progress as a driver, which he is very consistent throughout the sessions emotionally. Every engineers meeting is for myself in the last two years if I had a bad session, I wouldn’t focus properly in the engineer meeting to give proper feedback.”
“I would still be frustrated and I am still quite the same now. But at least on track I am still able to focus and give the feedback as much as possible, which I hear the radio from his side what he’s talking about in a race. He was giving much more feedback or having more communication with the team. They are a hundred times different, and those things I learnt from him,” he added.
Yuki Tsunoda sheds light on his bond with Pierre Gasly
In his first season in F1 with AlphaTauri, Yuki Tsunoda had Pierre Gasly as a teammate, who became one of his best teammates and closest friends. The duo have Italian residences in common; the former lives in Faenza, whereas the latter is based out of Milan. Despite driving for different teams now, the Japanese driver reckons that the bond he had with the Frenchman was special. He claimed the Frenchman helped him settle into the sport and into the team.
“With Pierre had a very very special relationship, I wouldn’t say very very special. It was nice. For sure I got very lucky, that for the first two years, he was the teammate I would say. Because you know I think first two years, you will need to perform and everything. Most of it you are not ion control and I think a good teammate at least outside racing, having a teammate that you can be comfortable or be happy, I think it helped quite a lot, in terms of emotionally, the mentally as well. For sure that side he helped me a lot,” he stated.
“In the first year when I arrived to Formula 1, he was he did one of the most successful seasons in his Formula 1 career so far. So learned a lot of things from him, how to lead a team or whatever. So yeah I mean still we have a good relationship even if we live apart as a team, still we live in the same country. So its good,” the 24-year-old added.
After Gasly’s departure from the team, Tsunoda stepped up to lead the team with Nyck De Vries as a teammate. The Dutch driver was expected to outperform him but underperformed, resulting in the arrival of Ricciardo midway through the season. While the second half of the 2023 season saw both drivers perform equally, 2024 has been different.
Starting on a strong footing, the 22-year-old has managed to outperform the eight time Grand Prix winner in seven out of eight race weekends. He is currently tenth in the championship with a total of 19 points, whereas his 34-year-old teammate has managed to score just five points. The Honda protege has not just shaken up the driver market but has become a solid commodity in the driver lineup, seeking the attention of his current and potential employers.
