Tsunoda on working with a psychologist: “I can quickly lose control in the car”

Yuki tsunoda did not experience the best of the Grands Prix, at Silverstone. The Japanese, who was then ranked in the points with Pierre Gasly, had clashed with his French teammate from AlphaTauri, at turn 3. Results: retirement for Gasly and 14th place for Tsunoda. Worse still: one of the debris of theAlpha Tauri found himself stuck under the car of Max Verstappen, then leader of the race. The Dutchman therefore suffered from a lack of downforce and ultimately finished 7th.

“It was totally my fault, Tsunoda admitted, so I immediately apologized to the team and especially to Pierre. We were fighting for points even though we thought it was going to be a tough weekend at Silverstone. I can't say anything more than "sorry." And on top of that, the debris got stuck under Max’s car so it was a really bad day for me,” admitted the AlphaTauri driver at a press conference in Spielberg.

This new incident with the Japanese was the last straw for Red Bull and for Helmut Marko. The Austrian team decided to hire a new psychologist to work with Tsunoda on his aggression. The main person concerned recognized that this could be useful to him, having already experienced it a few years ago. “I was already working with a psychologist in F2, I was very happy to work with him. He helped me cross the threshold of Formula 1. He was able to develop my performances, to remain consistent. »

Tsunoda 'knows he needs to improve' regarding his aggression

According to him, Red Bull had already made the decision to hire a new psychologist four races ago. If he knows that the results will not be imminent, he assured that he wants to resolve his nervousness problems at all costs. “It will take time because he needs to know me first and we need to understand what direction we should take together. But yes, definitely, one of my problems is that I can quickly lose control in the car. I know I need to improve on this point, to be more consistent. I hope we can work well together in the future. » 

So, if Tsunoda is good in his mind, will he be good on the track? Let's hope for him. The Japanese is on a drought of four races without points, not counting the fact of having stupidly caused his team to lose several points in Great Britain. In Austria, on a circuit that he likes, the AlphaTauri driver hopes to achieve a good result. “I can’t wait to get on the track. We had a good race and good qualifying here last year. The track and the atmosphere here are incredible. I hope we can score points, especially on my side. »

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