During the latter part of the race at Sakihir, Tsunoda found himself far behind in the standings when he received a message from the pitwall instructing him to let Ricciardo pass. The Japanese driver expressed his displeasure over the radio before reluctantly allowing his Australian teammate to overtake him.
After the race, Tsunoda displayed his frustration by nearly colliding with Ricciardo’s car. This incident was not ideal for rookie VCARB team principal Laurent Mekies, suggesting that he failed to properly communicate the rules of engagement to his drivers.
Clearly remorseful, Tsunoda appeared apologetic during the F1 Drivers press conference in Jeddah on Wednesday. He faced tough questioning from the media panel and explained that he had discussed the situation with the entire team after the race. They have since reached a unified understanding and are now on the same page.
When asked if the team orders were the cause of his frustration, Tsunoda admitted that they played a part. However, he also acknowledged that he now understands their reasoning. Despite the difficulties he faced during the race, Tsunoda accepts the decision made by the team and believes it was necessary.
The questions continued to come, and Tsunoda was asked if he would follow team orders again in the future. He adamantly replied, “Yes, 100%. I believe we had different strategies compared to Daniel. He had new Soft tyres, while I was battling with Kevin. Therefore, he had more open space and better pace. The team probably thought that Daniel had a better chance of overtaking Kevin, so they asked me to swap positions.”
“I experienced intense moments of mental activity. However, ultimately, I allowed him to pass, perhaps a lap or half a lap later. So, that was the deciding factor. The team believed they had a better chance, and I respect their decision,” explained the 23-year-old Japanese driver.
VCARB continues to serve as the junior team for Red Bull, providing opportunities for young talent to progress to the senior team alongside Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. Therefore, Ricciardo or Tsunoda are the top candidates for a seat with the World Champions in the event of a departure or unavailability of their current drivers.
Ricciardo openly acknowledges that his time at VCARB is merely a temporary arrangement until he can once again partner with Verstappen. However, the Australian driver is a mere shadow of his former self, with his peak years from 2014 to 2016 long behind him. Max will undoubtedly outperform him.
Another contender, should Red Bull choose from their pool of drivers, is Tsunoda. However, his temperament remains questionable as he enters his fourth season in the top tier of racing. One must question why Red Bull would consider hiring a driver who struggles to control his emotions.
When asked about this, Tsunoda responded, “Yes, definitely. It’s an aspect I need to improve upon. If I repeat those mistakes, it will undoubtedly lead to more issues. I am aware that this is an area I must primarily focus on for improvement. I am working on it, and I am confident that I will make progress. It will require more than just one step, but I believe I can demonstrate my capabilities. Whether or not they choose to have me on the team is up to them. But my main focus is on developing better self-control. Aside from that, I have great confidence in my abilities and continue to strive for improvement.”
In terms of learning from veteran Ricciardo, Tsunoda believed: “It’s still a process of learning and perhaps what I demonstrated on Sunday was the opposite, or Saturday, sorry. But I constantly remind myself just before I get into the car, ‘don’t press the radio button’, but also other things.
“I think they also enjoy singling me out, to be honest, in those radio messages. Yeah, I mean, I don’t shout like it appears on the TV. I don’t know, the more I speak, the worse it gets. So I’ll just say that I’ll do my best to improve. And you’ll see it on the track from these races onwards,” promised Tsunoda.
Having only worked under Franz Tost in the past as an F1 driver, Tsunoda explained the difference with new VCARB boss Mekies in charge: “We have a very good relationship and he is already helping a lot with things to enhance our team.
“Obviously, there are some similarities between Franz and Laurent, in that both of them genuinely care about each individual in the team and I believe each person’s opinions matter. He tries to incorporate all of it and provide the best response possible. So there are similarities.
“Actually, I didn’t find it difficult to adapt to him or anything like that. We immediately had a good relationship and I think the whole team is going in the right direction and in the right mood.”
“And yeah, it’s definitely not an easy job right now,” lamented Tsunoda. “Bringing everyone together, ensuring that everyone feels comfortable, because there are many new people joining. But so far, from what I’ve seen in the team, everyone seems happy and very relaxed, comfortable working together.”
In conclusion, Tsunoda added: “Laurent [Mekies] came straight to my room after the race. And we had a quite lengthy discussion about it. Mainly understanding each person’s perspective, his side and my side. And yeah, he definitely made me much calmer during the race.
“He definitely helped me to face the right direction. And I feel reset now and yeah, just move on from there. So yeah, he’s kind of like that, it’s somewhat similar to Franz, you know, if the same thing happens, Franz will come straight to my room immediately. So, yeah, feeling good,” concluded Tsunoda.
Should a position become available in the Red Bull team, Ricciardo or Tsunoda will be chosen, despite neither really reaching the level that Verstappen consistently sets and surpasses nearly every weekend. Neither VCARB driver, based on their current performance, will be able to match Perez, let alone Verstappen.
After one Grand Prix this season, StatsF1 show that Tsunoda leads Ricciardo 1-0 in Qualifying, while the Race score for Bahrain is excluded as it was manipulated. If VCARB had allowed the race to unfold, Yuki would probably have beaten Dan. (Quotes from Agnes Carlier in Jeddah)