F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Tost: Tsunoda radio tantrums 'hurt him and hurt the team'

AlphaTauri team boss Franz Tost says Yuki Tsunoda needs to keep his temper under control in the heat of moment as the radio outbursts can not only hurt the Japanese driver but also his team.

Tsunoda concluded his first season in Formula 1 on a high in Abu Dhabi where the AlphaTauri charger finished an impressive fourth.

But overall, the 21-year-old's maiden campaign at the highest level was a mixed bag although Tsunoda's progress was notable in the second half of the season.

However, the young gun often displayed a fiery propensity to erupt over his team's radio when caught up in a heated moment on the track with a rival, producing expletive-filled rants that have often forced his race engineer to intervene to calm him down.

"This is definitely now my weak point and I have to really improve on my radio communications," Tsunoda said earlier this year. "I don’t know why I get too heated up."

Tost obviously agreed but the Austrian admitted that the outburst were also part of an F1 driver's natural and necessary aggression.

"You can say to him, 'Please don’t say this, it's not good for your image, it’s not good for the team, be quiet' and then he closes the visor, sits in the car, has a problem for whatever reason, and he gets upset," explained the AlphaTauri boss, quoted by RacingNews365.

"People must understand this is an F1 car. There must be an aggression from the drivers, it's not just rolling around. They must have this adrenaline otherwise they can't show this performance."

"I will request him not to do it. He can shout to himself and not switch on the radio. It hurts him, and it hurts the team."

Red Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko agrees that Tsunoda's rants are especially detrimental to the young charger's image in his home country.

"His language isn’t very Japanese," Marko said. "It gives him bad publicity back in Japan. I'm not sure if he knows the meaning."

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Michael Delaney

Recent Posts

Las Vegas GP: Hamilton leads Mercedes 1-2 in trouble-free FP1

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell led the field in a chilly but trouble-free first practice…

52 mins ago

2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix Free Practice 1 - Results

Full results from Free Practice 1 for the Las Vegas Grand Prix in the United…

56 mins ago

Aston Martin says performance shortfall led to Fallows exit

Aston Martin performance director Tom McCullough has shed some light on why the team’s former…

10 hours ago

FIA clamps down on plank loophole after Red Bull complaint

The FIA has issued a pivotal Technical Directive to F1 teams ahead of this weekend’s…

11 hours ago

F1 drivers blindsided by race director Wittich’s sudden exit

The abrupt removal last week of FIA race director Niels Wittich with just three races…

13 hours ago

McLaren relaxes ‘papaya rules’: Norris and Piastri free to race

Oscar Piastri has confirmed that McLaren’s team orders—dubbed the "Papaya Rules"—have been largely relaxed, giving…

14 hours ago