Tsunoda reveals Verstappen qualities in personal F1 turnaround

Yuki Tsunoda has highlighted the qualities of Max Verstappen that have played a key role in sparking a personal about-turn in making him a more "complete driver".

Tsunoda heads into what will be his fifth season in F1 this year, all with Red Bull's 'junior' team after missing out on promotion to the 'senior' outfit as team principal Christian Horner and advisor Helmut Marko opted to promote Liam Lawson to partner Verstappen.

That is despite the fact Tsunoda feels he silenced many of his critics last year with his performances, in particular, surviving ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, who was axed following the Singapore Grand Prix.

Tsunoda feels he has considerably improved in all areas of his motor racing, notably his radio communication skills which previously let him down as he allowed his anger to come to the fore.

"I proved a lot of things in my favour, what people think about me, I proved they're wrong," said Tsunoda, speaking to RacingNews365. "When the season started people maybe thought Daniel would beat me, but I proved them wrong.

"I trusted myself since last season that I could do a better job than other drivers. The most important thing is that I improved myself, especially in terms of radio communication.

"That's an area I'd been struggling to improve in my racing career because it was part of my character as well, wanting to express myself, or if there was a stressful moment, I wanted to get it out instantly rather than hold on until the end of the session.

"So those things, as a driver, I've stepped up, to show people that I'm a complete driver."

Verstappen 'different from what you see on TV'

Despite Tsunoda's claim, he will have to settle for being the lead driver this year at Racing Bulls where he will be partnered by Isack Hadjar following the Red Bull junior's promotion after finishing runner-up in last season's F2 drivers' championship.

At least Tsunoda can draw on what he claims he has learned over the past four years from four-time F1 champion Verstappen.

Asked as to where specifically Verstappen has been helpful, Tsunoda replied: "I would say his consistency. The level of focus he had throughout the year was definitely impressive.

"Driving in Formula 1 since he was 17 years old definitely helps as well. A lot of things are different between me and Max. I started in Japan, and when he started in Formula 1 at 17, I'd just moved from Japan to Europe. So a lot of things are different.

"But definitely, as a driver, what I can say is that the consistency in any condition, any race, and the focus level he has is impressive, and I've learned a lot of things from that."

Although Tsunoda claims he has been unable to hold too many conversations with Verstappen, given they drive for different teams even if under the Red Bull umbrella, he can say with certainty that the Dutchman is not as many people perhaps perceive him.

"When we're together at some social activities, Red Bull stuff, we speak," said Tsunoda. "He's quite a different guy from what you see on TV, or from how he's behaved. He's such a nice guy, very generous, fun to chat with as well."