Tsunoda Determined To Improve Self-Control Following Anger Outburst In Bahrain

Thursday, 07 March 2024 at 01:30

RB driver Yuki Tsunoda stated he is working on improving his self-control after his outburst during the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix.

RB driver Yuki Tsunoda had a pretty solid pace during the first race of the 2024 season at Bahrain International Circuit. However, his team didn't opt for the best strategy, and that eliminated his chances for a good result.

Helmut Marko told OE24 he thought the Japanese driver could have achieved points had his team chosen a better strategy, but they didn't.

What's more, the 23-year-old received an order from his team to give a position to his teammate, which he made clear he didn't like. He refused to let Daniel Ricciardo pass him for one whole lap.

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Then, in the end, when his position wasn't returned to him, Tsunoda divebombed Ricciardo on a cooldown lap, nearly colliding with the Australian driver.

This is not something Red Bull would want to see when looking for a second driver in their seat. Asked by RacingNews365 whether he thinks Red Bull would like to sign a driver who has a history of such outbursts, Tsunoda said:

"It’s a thing I have to improve, for sure. If I do those things again, there will be more issues."

The Honey Badger, who also talked to the media in Jeddah, said the two drivers had already spoken to each other, "cleared the air," and planned to work as a team moving forward. Tsundoa continued:

"These are things I have to improve, I'm working on it. It needs more than two steps, not just one step of something. I have confidence I can prove that, [then] it's up to them [Red Bull] if they want me or not."

Tsunoda made great progress as a racing driver, and Marko suggested that any of the RB drivers who outperforms the other one might have a good chance of getting a seat in Red Bull.

It would certainly be a shame for the 23-year-old if he missed the opportunity of his life because of anger outbursts like the one in Bahrain. He added:

"But I’m mainly focused on self-control. Other than that I have pretty good confidence that I’m achieving most of it, and I’ll keep improving."