"Maybe I'm still shouting, just not pressing the radio" - AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda claims to have taken 'a massive step' from last year

Yuki Tsunoda has made a much better start to the 2022 F1 season. The Japanese driver has been more competitive than his teammate and, at Imola, he was able to outrace Pierre Gasly on his way to scoring points.

The Japanese driver reflected on how it was last season and how he used to have multiple episodes of shouting on the team radio. Tsunoda revealed that he has realized that being calm in certain situations is the best way to go about approaching things, saying:

“I would say, [on the] radio, maybe I’m still shouting, [but I’m] just not pressing the radio [button as much]. 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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Yuki Tsunoda is much more controlled in 2022

Yuki Tsunoda revealed that things have changed a lot compared to last season where many times he did not understand what was going on. He revealed that he did not understand the nitty-gritty of racing and Formula 1 when he started last season, but now, there seems to be a massive change in his approach.

The 21-year-old said:

“I think [I’m] much more controlled, I would say, compared to last year. 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.”

Yuki Tsunoda has been quietly impressive this season, putting together consistent performances wherever he can. The Japanese driver has already scored 10 points this season and is even ahead of his teammate Pierre Gasly in the championship standings.

Meanwhile, reliability has been a limiting factor for both the drivers as Tsunoda could not even start the race in Saudi Arabia while Gasly suffered a retirement in the Bahrain GP. Compared to 2021, however, Tsunoda has shown an impressive turnaround this season.