AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda has highlighted how his change in Formula 1 "mindset" has evolved during his second season in Grand Prix racing. After a strong start to his career in 2021, Tsunoda faded throughout the mid-part of his rookie campaign, but rounded it off with a strong fourth in Abu Dhabi. He partnered Pierre Gasly once again at the Faenza-based squad for '22, a season where he would have been hoping for further progress. It proved to be a difficult campaign for the team as the AT03 was overweight and lacked downforce, slipping to ninth in the Constructors' as Tsunoda only scored points in four races - and only once after the Spanish Grand Prix, the sixth round of the season. However, the Japanese racer - who will be joined by Nyck de Vries in 2023 - has explained how he himself has evolved and improved throughout his second season.
Tsunoda reveals 2022 changes
Tsunoda has admitted to not enjoying the training demanded of F1 drivers, but pinpointed this among other areas he has improved, which also included his "mentality". "I would say the physical side, mentality side and driving side [are the main areas I've improved]," Tsunoda told media including RacingNews365.com. "Overall, I'm pretty happy and now I'm especially feeling relaxed in the race week, especially on Thursday and Friday which I didn't really know how to approach [last year]. "I was stressing consistently, rushing everything - that led to stress and was frustrating and made it difficult to be by myself. "But now I can relax and adapt to any situation, like the things I didn't expect and [still have] good confidence and now how to handle it. "I'm pretty happy with how I've progressed at every race [this season] and hopefully I can continue this momentum next year as well."
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