Yuki Tsunoda made an admission regarding his attitude, saying that the move to Italy shaped him very well.
Tsunoda made his F1 debut this season. He joined AlphaTauri, Red Bull’s junior team, and was paired up with Pierre Gasly.
Although he had a great ending to the season with a mighty P4 at the Abu Dhabi GP, his initial struggles were very concerning. He took a lot of criticism for his performances and for his behaviour when things didn’t go his way.
It got so bad that Red Bull moved the rookie from Milton-Keynes in the UK to Faenza in Italy. This was done so that he could stay closer to the AlphaTauri team and spend more time with them.
Tsunoda made an admission regarding his attitude, saying that the move to Italy really helped him mature and become a better driver and person.
“The move helped me in terms of preparation,” the Japanese driver said, as quoted by Motorsportweek.
“Before I came to Italy I was just a lazy b**tard. After practice I would go straight to my house, turn on the PlayStation 5 and play all day, just trying to have fun.
“I think that was the reason why, as I approached the weekend, I had the feeling of having done everything in a frantic way. I was only starting to prepare for a race week and I think it was too late.”
Positive difference
“Comparing myself to other drivers as well, I thought about it and prepared a lot more,” he continued.
“I’m a rookie and I need more preparation than the more experienced drivers, and I think then I did useful things.
“Some aspects have improved after my move to Italy, after the race we went back to the factory to review the races to understand what the problems were, and this approach has made a difference.”
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