Yuki Tsunoda feels that he has made progress in terms of toning down any outbursts over the team radio. The AlphaTauri driver became known for occasionally losing his cool whilst behind the wheel in his 2021 rookie season, resulting in some expletive-filled comments to his engineers. Team boss Franz Tost previously stated that he would ask Tsunoda not to do this, as he felt it had the potential to hurt both the driver and the team . There were also some incidents and crashes for Tsunoda during the start of his debut campaign in F1, but the Japanese driver seems to have developed more consistency so far in 2022. He has scored points in two out of the three races that he has competed in, having been unable to take the start of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix due to a mechanical issue.
Tsunoda feels more "controlled" in 2022 F1 season
Tsunoda scored points at this year's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix with a P7 finish, on a weekend that he suffered a crash at just 12 months earlier, and he believes that this highlights the progression he has made. "I think [I'm] much more controlled, I would say, compared to last year," Tsunoda told media, including RacingNews365.com . "Same time here last year, I was not fully in control. I didn't know what I was doing, and every lap [I was] just pushing through the limit, and [that's when] things happened. "But actually, that makes me improve also. That was really good learning as a driver. After that, I went into a bad loop, but that makes good learning as well as a driver. "[I was] able to [take] the next step, and that's why [I was] able to score points today. I think, compared to last year, it's a massive step, especially in the race pace."
How Tsunoda has changed approach to radio messages
This development has also affected Tsunoda's approach to what he shares over the team radio, with the driver feeling that he has become calmer in 2022. "I would say, [on the] radio, maybe I'm still shouting, [but I'm] just not pressing the radio [button as much]," he explained. "This is a massive step, compared to last year. Still, I think [I] try to be more calm. I realised that there's no point to shout in the radio. "It's better to tell the limitations specifically with a calm voice and to go the next step, so I think this was good."
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