Yuki Tsunoda installs home sim in bid to 'sharpen up' his driving in F1

Yuki Tsunoda

Tsunoda installs home sim in bid to 'sharpen up' his driving in F1

Japanese driver has struggled in rookie F1 campaign

Ian Parkes

Tuesday 5 October 2021 15:54

Yuki Tsunoda has revealed to installing a home simulator in a bid to sharpen up his driving following a troubled rookie F1 campaign with AlphaTauri.

Following a bright start to the season and earning numerous plaudits, the Japanese driver quickly lost his way, becoming involved in a number of incidents.

In an effort to hone his focus, the team ordered Tsunoda to move closer to its base in Faenza, with team principal Franz Tost putting together a day-to-day programme for the 21-year-old to follow.

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Although Tsuonda has picked up the odd reasonable result, he trails down in 14th in the drivers' standings, 48 points and five places behind team-mate Pierre Gasly.

Arguably fortunate to retain his place with the team for next season, Tsunoda has now taken the step of adding a home simulator in a further effort to improve.

"Of course, it’s not quite the same as being in the full-scale sim at Red Bull, which is not like the real thing, but it is the most realistic one I have ever used," said Tsunoda.

"The main benefit of the sim is learning about the track and sharpening up my driving.

"I can also review something that happened in the previous race or I can practice some particular piece of driving.

"Having the simulator at home now is useful and I can also discuss what I am doing on it with my engineer and simulate a race weekend from FP1 to qualifying, based on plans made by the engineer for me to use, so we can work on it together."

Heading into this weekend's Turkish Grand Prix, with the Istanbul Park circuit another new track for Tsunoda to learn, he recognises his need to deliver points for the team on a more regular basis.

"I will follow my usual programme for a new track, building up speed gradually," added Tsunoda.

"The last five races I was pretty consistent but the performance and pace were not so good, so this weekend I will try and dial it up a little bit more to be more competitive."