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Tost backs Tsunoda: Formula 1 is more complicated now

The AlphaTauri team principal has explained why being a rookie in F1 is more difficult than ever which is why he has full confidence in Yuki Tsunoda.

AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost feels that Yuki Tsunoda to have a strong second half of the Formula 1 season and believes rookie drivers have a lot more to learn compared to previous generations in F1. Tsunoda has occasionally impressed but has had a campaign plagued with crashes. Tost is not worried about Tsunoda, who now lives near the AlphaTauri factory in Faenza. "Believe me for these young drivers, it's really difficult to come into Formula 1," Tost told RacingNews365.com and other select members of the press. "You can't expect that that a rookie knows everything from the very beginning. That's the reason why I always say a young driver needs three years to understand this complicated F1, because F1 has become much more complicated compared to years before. "At every race weekend, they do [for] the first time qualifying there. Of course you can say 'no, they did it in FP1, FP2, FP3, they must know where to go. No, for example, the wind is maybe increasing or coming from another direction or the track is hotter or colder. So many things are changing." Tsunoda confirmed that he changed his approach to driving at the end of June, following his qualifying crash at the French GP. Tost thinks his incident was all part of the learning process for a rookie. "When I remember back to the accident in Paul Ricard when Yuki crashed, we had some understeering problems in FP3, then we decided to give more front wing to do more work on the front suspension," Tost explained. "He came to this corner, turned in and then the car slid more than he expected, came over the kerbs and there was also some wind direction changed and then he crashed. "But, you cannot teach this [to a] young driver. He has to learn in every qualifying session, what to do on this track. Definitely experience is important and Yuki is improving really well." Tsunoda had a quieter weekend at the Styrian GP with no major errors and Tost is happy with his rate of learning and understanding about F1 and his AlphaTauri car. "The complete process is absolutely in the right direction and he didn't change the approach," said Tost. "He had already beforehand a good approach but now he has much more time with the engineers because he's living in Faenza, every day he is spending hours with the engineers. "This helps him to understand the car from the mechanical side and the power unit side and a young driver has to learn this. "I'm very happy with your Yuki, he shows a fantastic, natural speed and he's improving day by day, session by session. "I'm quite optimistic that we will see very good second half of the season and that Yuki will also be successful in the future."

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