Franz Tost has explained how he called Yuki Tsunoda into his office and warned him over his F1 future after a clash with teammate Pierre Gasly. AlphaTauri pair Tsunoda and Gasly were running firmly inside the points at the recent British Grand Prix when a lunge from the Japanese driver led to contact. Gasly later retired with damage picked up in the collision, while Tsunoda was the final driver to cross the finish line back in 14th position. It proved to be a particularly costly incident for the team, as they struggled for pace throughout the following Austrian GP weekend and again left empty-handed.
Tsunoda told to be "more disciplined and patient"
Looking back on the Silverstone drama, Tost detailed how he made his views very clear to Tsunoda in a firm post-race chat. "It was a nightmare for the team," Tost told media, including RacingNews365.com . "[We] were in position seven and eight and we knew that Silverstone was difficult for us, therefore we really were in good positions. "Yuki got a little bit too impatient, tried to out-brake Pierre, lost the rear and crashed into him. "Immediately after the race I called Yuki into my office and told him that this is absolutely a no-go and that he has to be more disciplined and patient. "This was not the first collision between teammates and will not be the last one - hopefully with us [it will] - as we saw this in the history of F1 a couple of times. "Nevertheless, this in any way must be avoided."
Tost: If Tsunoda performs, he will stay
Between the British and Austrian Grand Prix weekends, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko described Tsunoda as Red Bull's "problem child" . He also revealed that the company has arranged for a psychologist to work with the 22-year-old to control issues such as his radio outbursts. Giving his take on Tsunoda's current mindset and approach, Tost said: "I like 'problem children' because these are the real good children who can make something out of it. I don't like the 'holy children'. "Yuki made a mistake; he knows it and he will work on this. He is still in his development process. He is fast. He will do [it] his way. It takes a little bit of time." As for what Tsunoda needs to do to keep his seat at AlphaTauri for a third season, Tost gave a simple answer. "If he continues like he did during the season, apart from crashing, I think that he has a good chance to stay with us," he commented. "It depends on him. If he shows a good performance, he will stay; if he doesn't show a good performance, he is out – totally easy."
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