New Times ADVeRTisiNG sUPPLemeNT MIAMI RACE WEEK 2024 GUiDe 18 May 2-8, 2024 NEW TIMES ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT MIAMI RACE WEEK 2024 GUIDE 18 May 2-8, 2024 In that same vein of blunt honesty and self- improvement, Tsunoda says he’s working hard to deliver more consistently during races. “It’s not easy to put 100 percent into every lap, and if I look back to 2022, some of the races, especially when the car wasn’t performing well and I started like in P16, it put my mindset back slightly,” he admits. “I didn’t like that feeling. So last year I tried to give 100 percent effort every time. It wasn’t easy because it is mentally tough, and at the end of the season I felt mentally and physically exhausted. But I felt much happier because I’d given it all. It was more consistent. And that’s the target for this year—more consistency.” It was easier for Tsunoda to articulate that intention during a low-stress preseason photo shoot than it was to deliver the goods a month later at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. There, the wheels came off his more measured game plan with alarming rapidity. Asked to move aside to allow Visa Cash App teammate Daniel Ricciardo—who was on a different strategy—to pass in the closing stages of the race, Tsunoda lost it again, mocking his teammate’s pace: “He’s not fast at all.” And then, during the cooldown lap at the end of race, he drove down the inside to pointedly pass Ricciardo before locking up, causing the Australian to deliver an equally sweary rebuke over team radio. “We know what he’s like,” said Ricciardo afterward. “He’s obviously… during the moment he’s very … that’s Yuki.” In subsequent days, Tsunoda was taken to task not only by F1 media— who questioned what the display might do to his ambitions to move from RB to the senior Oracle Red Bull Racing team at some point—but also by Red Bull’s fearsome motorsport advisor, Helmut Marko. “The theater could have been avoided,” Marko said of the incident. “I spoke to Yuki afterward. With the right strategy, he could have finished 10th.” The incident, its aftermath and the dressings down he received seem to have pushed Tsunoda to renew his commitment to dial down the fireworks and level up his competitiveness and consistency. In the three races following the season opener—in Saudi Arabia, Australia and on home soil in Japan—the Japanese driver booked a trio of Q3 spots. In Melbourne, he converted eighth place to seventh at the flag with a typically committed but also smart and considered drive, while at Suzuka he became the first Japanese driver in a dozen years to score points in a home grand prix. “Flawless, a great performance under the pressure of his home race,” Marko was now saying. “There have been four races and Yuki has brought the car into Q3 three times,” he told Sky Germany. “He is consistent and the mistakes are now a thing of the past. His lack of control on the radio is also gone.” Tsunoda, meanwhile, was happy to confound the expectations of critics who routinely expect meltdowns. “I love to prove some people wrong,” Tsunoda told British television station Channel 4. “It’s always the story. I got used to it, you know . . . I’m very happy that I’m able to prove people wrong. I just keep what I’m doing and in the end, that’s what I have to do to be a good performer and driver in Formula 1.” Speaking earlier in the weekend, the Japanese driver admitted that the turnaround has as much to do with the qualities of his VCARBO1. “My confidence level is good, and I think the preparation going into qualifying in how to create the best possible car is getting better and better,” he said after qualifying. “It is just understanding more about how to make a car fast. I’ve always been good in qualifying, and on top of my confidence level, it matches well with the car. I think that’s the main reason, but of course, there is the car setup, and I am starting to understand how to create a good balance.” Many observers would say that the upturn couldn’t have come at a better time, given that during the same span in which Tsunoda has elevated his performance, Ricciardo’s form has slumped. The Australian driver has struggled to find a sweet spot with the new car, particularly under braking. The pressure on both drivers has been heightened by the presence in the wings of Red Bull Racing reserve driver Liam Lawson. The 21-year-old New Zealander put in an impressive point-scoring five-race stint with AlphaTauri while filling in for an injured Ricciardo last fall. But despite the chatter about competition in the paddock, Tsunoda quickly dismisses the notion that suddenly it’s crunch time. “For me every year is crucial,” he says. “Everyone knows that my contract is year to year, so I’ve gotten used to it being crucial. Yes, this season will be important, but I’m more focused on what I want to improve and how I can enjoy this more.” Tsunoda also is insistent that there’s no cage fight brewing with Ricciardo. In fact, the young racer believes he has a lot to learn from his more experienced teammate. “He’s fast and it’s not easy [to beat him],” Tsunoda says. “His approach to race weeks is different, but there are lots of things I can learn from him. For example, a thing I learned from Daniel when he joined our team last year is that he’s really, really relaxed. He’s always calm and always gives the engineers really accurate, consistent feedback. He’s a good reference.” Tsunoda is being authentically modest, and over the opening run to his home grand prix, the Japanese driver outqualified Ricciardo four to one. “That’s just what I have to do all the time,” he laughs. “I just have to be competitive—competitive throughout the week and the season. I just want to score points as much as possible.” And so Tsunoda will carry on, and (try to) keep calm. “Yes! Honestly, at some point it will come naturally,” he says. “But there are some things I can’t change, you know. Once I put on the helmet and I’m in the car, I change, right?” That’s Yuki Tsunoda—still fast, still fiery, always himself. “This season I’m more focused on what I want to improve and how I can enjoy this more,” Tsunoda says. GETTY IMAGES/RED BULL CONTENT POOL With a P10 finish in Suzuka, Tsunoda became the first Japanese driver to score points on home soil in 12 years. GETTY IMAGES/RED BULL CONTENT POOL > p. 16
