Yuki Tsunoda has explained that a lack of “muscle memory” when it comes to learning the intricacies of the RB21 is what is holding back his growth as a Red Bull Formula 1 driver.
The Japanese driver has had an indifferent start to his time with the Milton Keynes-based squad, scoring 10 points in the five races he he has contested, since swappimng places with Liam Lawson after China.
Tsunoda has fared better than his Kiwi counterpart, but is still a long way off Max Verstappen, who utilised an upgraded RB21 to dominate the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
Conversely, Tsunoda crashed spectacularly in Q1 on Saturday, skittling across the gravel and barrellrolling into the barrier at the Villeneuve chicane, condemning him to last-place start.
But it is not enough to leave Tsunoda or the team content, and concluded that he has struggling to find an affinity with the car, something he had found more easily when driving at Red Bull’s B-team.
“I think it’s just, it’s coming from I feel like not [having] muscle memory [when driving the car],” Tsunoda told media, including Motorsport Week.
“Everything at VCARB, when the car [snapped], it was super easy to react. I didn’t have to think about anything to react to it.
“But so far, obviously, [there’s] still some unpredictable movements happening. And, yeah, those things just come with experience, I guess.”
‘Room to improve’ for Yuki Tsunoda at Red Bull despite damage limitation race
However, Tsunoda did perform an impressive recovery drive, moving halfway up the order to finish 10th for one championship point.
Reiterating that the unsure feeling from the car was reminded to him by his horror smash, Tsunoda explained that it left him uncertain of how his Grand Prix performance would pan out.
“I don’t know what was possible to be honest,” he said.
‘Until FP2, the pace was pretty good, I was pretty close with Max, but FP3 was pretty messy, so it is hard to say [where I could have finished].
“The pace was really good, so I think that was not impossible, and Max won. The crash certainly didn’t help with the learning, and in the crash, I recognised that I’m not understanding everything about the car.
“I still remember every moment of it from turning, and it is a very unexpected movement, which is the first time I’ve experienced those things.
“Sometimes you just have to step back and gradually build the confidence again because it is easy to put too much pressure on, so I have to rethink myself, but I was happy to be able to build the confidence up in the race.
“My progress is continuing, but there is still a lot of room to improve.”
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