Daniel Ricciardo ex-coach left fearing SACK after nearly BLINDING Yuki Tsunoda

Tsunoda, AlphaTauri, Bahrain, 2022 — Photo: © LAT Images

Yuki Tsunoda

Ricciardo ex-coach left fearing SACK after nearly BLINDING Tsunoda

Yuki Tsunoda was a very lucky man to walk away without serious injury after the incident

Shay Rogers

Wednesday 9 August 2023 21:57

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Daniel Ricciardo’s former coach Michael Italiano has revealed how he nearly lost his new job during his first race weekend with Yuki Tsunoda, after an accident during the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Italiano and Tsunoda were paired together in January, with the 23-year-old hungry to train harder than ever in his bid to showcase his talents behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car.

But his season was nearly over before it had even started, after a joke between him and Italiano turned sour before first practice.

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The Japanese driver, who previously admitted that he wasn’t fit enough during his rookie season, was engaging in a light session, just a few hours before heading to the track.

I was scared he wasn’t going to race

Michael Italiano has worked with both Yuki Tsunoda (left) and Daniel Ricciardo (right)

“First weekend together. I have a golf ball, and we use the golf ball to roll out the ball of our feet,” Italiano told the Pitstop podcast. “He grabbed the golf ball, and he just lobbed it onto my shin and obviously it hurt and he’s giggling.

“He took the foam roller and started rolling his back, so I grabbed the golf ball and as I was walking to get the spiky ball, I just threw the golf ball over my shoulder.

"I wasn’t even looking. I just thought I'd lob it, and it’ll probably get him in the shin or something. I’ve lobbed it and hit him straight in the eye.”

The talk of the paddock that weekend was around Lance Stroll’s cycling accident, which hampered his ability to race at full capacity for Aston Martin, which is something Italiano feared may have been the case for Yuki too.

“Honestly, I was quite scared that he wasn’t going to race that Friday [in Bahrain]. I 100 per cent understand it was very reckless of me to just throw it.”

Tsunoda fought through the pain after receiving eye drops and went on to have a solid weekend in Bahrain, finishing in eleventh place.