Ricciardo influence revealed in Tsunoda anger management

Yuki Tsunoda has revealed Red Bull set him a target to "calm down" over team radio last season, resulting in Daniel Ricciardo playing a leading role.

In an exclusive interview with RacingNews365, the Japanese driver says his improved "emotional control" has led to more "consistent" communication with his team during races.

The 24-year-old is known for his fiery demeanour in the car, but it has proven to be a divisive topic during his four years in F1.

To some, it is entertaining and merely Tsunoda showing his character. However, to others, it often oversteps the mark and is inappropriate.

On track, he has enjoyed a strong start to the season, out-scoring his experienced team-mate 22 points to 12 over the opening 14 rounds, form that has seen calls for him to step in alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull.

However, the language of his expletive-ridden radio messages went a step further earlier this season, when he used an ableist slur at the Austrian Grand Prix. The RB driver was widely - and rightly - criticised for the incident, which saw him called before the stewards in Spielberg. He was heavily fined, and he issued an apology.

However, despite that episode, Tsunoda believes his improvement in radio communications has been a key part of his impressive performances in 2024.

Asked if he feels he has taken a step forward over the past season, he replied: "Yeah, definitely.

"In that sense, my emotional control also helps because I think now I'm more consistent in radio communications [in terms of] voice level, consistency in terms of my feedback, so those lateral things help my communication with the engineers."

Tsunoda explained this has aided conversations around tyres, strategy and when discussing conditions on track, before adding: "I think those things are coming from improvements in my emotional control, which I'm working really, really hard to fix this year."

Marko and Horner wanted Tsunoda to 'calm down'

Whilst Tsunoda feels his changed approach to team radio has translated to better results this year, he cites two factors from the second half of 2023 which laid the foundations for his strong start to the campaign.

The opening round in Bahrain, however, did not get the season off on the right foot for the Japanese driver or for his relationship with his team-mate.

Frustrated at being made to move aside for Ricciardo during the grand prix, Tsunoda let his feelings be known over team radio before lunging down the inside of the other RB on the cool-down lap and racing the Australian on corner exit.

The situation was dealt with swiftly and internally by the team, and the Japanese driver sees it as a turning point for him.

"It felt very important," Tsunoda contends whilst reflecting on his new approach. "Starting from last year, [in the] second half of the season, Red Bull - Helmut [Marko], Christian [Horner] - wanted me to calm myself down a little bit and focus on feedback, and to be a more complete driver.

"Daniel [Ricciardo] came into the team, and Daniel is very, very good at those things, especially the feedback and radio communications.

"After I saw his radio communications, and obviously the target [from Marko and Horner] was aligned to what I saw in the team.

"Especially in Bahrain, things happened. I changed to really improve myself as a driver after Bahrain, and since then, I've been able to achieve that, so I'm pretty happy with my shape right now."