Ricciardo's F1 return has forced key rival into 'MISTAKES'

Yuki Tsunoda has admitted that Daniel Ricciardo’s arrival at AlphaTauri affected his performance, saying that the added ‘pressure’ led to ‘a couple of mistakes’.

The Japanese driver, who has been with AlphaTauri since 2021, was originally partnered with F1 rookie Nyck de Vries this season.

That pairing was cut short when De Vries was suddenly dropped from the team after just 10 races, with zero AlphaTauri points to his name.

Tsunoda has scored two points so far this season. Ricciardo has not yet scored any in the two races he has run so far, coming in P13 and then P16 at the Hungarian and Belgian Grands Prix.

Tsunoda told Autosport: “It's challenging. But at the same time, I know that this current situation is completely new for me.

“I'm learning a lot, especially getting challenged by an experienced driver. And not only is he an experienced driver, he’s a top driver and we know that he's fast.”

Tsunoda added that Ricciardo is ‘fast’ and the added pressure led to mistakes but also an opportunity to learn from the more experienced driver.

He said: “I already know he is fast but also how he's behaving in the team is like probably the opposite as me. So, lots of things to learn, a lot from him.

“It's also a bit of pressure for myself and probably that made me rush and a couple of mistakes in the last couple of races.

Tsunoda: I started to lose the rhythm

The driver admitted that that past few races have not gone his way, after a strong start to the season.

He said: “But I was able to put it all together in the last race [the Belgian Grand Prix]. It was not easy. But just happy and feeling ready for a fight with him in the second half of the season.

“Consistency was key, and especially last year, so I was able to improve. In the first races, I was happy; I knew why.

“I was slightly [in] a bit of comfort zone, and I had kind of rhythm. After Barcelona, there was two races that I lost the points in an unfortunate way.

“Since then, I started to lose the rhythm. I recognise the amount I have to improve still.

“[Spa was] back to the same shape, or similar shape, I had in the beginning of season. So really happy and just keep improving.”

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