Last week, on the occasion of the Thursday press conference at the Red Bull Ring, Yuki Tsunoda became the center of attention for the words that Helmut Marko had spoken at the end of the Silverstone GP when the Japanese had clashed with his teammate Pierre Gasly.
Marko had not been kind to Yuki calling him a problem child and revealing how the team had decided to work alongside a psychologist to try to calm Tsunoda’s moments of anger.
These statements had made many turn their noses, especially for revealing details that probably would have been more appropriate not to feed to the press, and including the mistake Marko tried to correct the shot in a recent interview with Red Bullettin.
“We believe in Yuki and her enormous potential. When she is not under stress she is incredibly funny and personable. Everyone likes her even if no one is able to make people lose their temper like him ”.
At the end of the Austrian GP, Franz Tost wanted to defend his rider by responding indirectly and in kind to Marko’s criticisms.
“I like problem children because they are the really good ones. They are the ones who can do something. I don’t like saints ”.
“Yuki made a mistake in Silvestone and will work on it. She is growing, she is fast and she has been this weekend too. It takes you some time ”.
“If he continues as he has done this season I think he will have a good chance of staying in AlphaTauri. Everything will depend on him. If he performs well he will stay, otherwise he will be out ”.
Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri AT03, fights with Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri AT03
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Tost then returned to the episode that negatively marked the Silverstone GP for the Faenza team.
“Obviously it was a nightmare for the team because the drivers were in seventh and eighth positions and we knew that Silverstone was a complicated track for us. We were in a good position, but Yuki was too impatient. He tried to overtake Pierre, but he lost his rear and collided with him ”.
“Right after the race I called him into my office and told him he needs to be more disciplined and patient. This was not the first collision between teammates and it will not be the last, but these situations must be avoided in every way ”.
Tsunoda, who at the conference on Thursday seemed quite upset by the attention paid to having been joined by a psychologist, explained that he had already had this help since the days of Formula 2, but that he has recently switched to a new health professional. mental.
“I already had a psychologist when I was racing in F2 and he did a great job. In the last four or five races I have been joined by another person, but I think it will take some time to understand if he is doing well or not ”.
“Being joined by a psychologist has nothing to do with what happened at Silverstone. There it was a mistake and I hope this will help me. It’s very easy to get frustrated when you’re in the car, so I’ll try to work on that. “
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