Tsunoda works hard on himself: 'Biggest difference is definitely physical'

Yuki Tsunoda continues to work hard on his growth as a Formula 1 driver, but has made great strides in his personal development over the past year in particular. However, he will have to keep pushing hard to prove that he is worth the contract extension at AlphaTauri.

Despite the mixed results Tsunoda has shown in 2022, AlphaTauri is not ready to give up on the Japanese driver. Red Bull Racing has invested a lot in the Honda protégé, who has made a lot of progress especially mentally. This is also reflected in his physical condition, Tsunoda told the Tauri Talk-podcast.

After a shaky F1 debut in 2021, intervention was made by Helmut Marko, who arranged for Tsunoda to live near the AlphaTauri factory. A strict schedule was then drawn up for the driver, which included fitness, English lessons and spending a lot of time with his team. Since then, he has made great strides in those areas, but the Japanese is not lacking in any self-criticism.

"Definitely the biggest difference is physical, I'd say. For driving I will say just a tiny bit, to be honest," the AlphaTauri driver admits. "Around the driving for example how I should approach the mentality side definitely, got increased those parts and more in control and I feel more relaxed in the race week. I know how to handle most of the situations." The fact that he now has almost two years of experience in F1 certainly helps. "In those parts it’s definitely had a bit more advantage compared to last year, into the race weeks," Tsunoda concludes.