AlphaTauri’s Tost Defends Tsunoda After Marko’s ‘Problem Child’ Comments

Franz Tost did not hesitate defending Yuki Tsunoda when addressing Red Bull and AlphaTauri team advisor Helmut Marko’s recent “problem child” comments. 

In Silverstone, Tsunoda was involved in a crash with teammate Pierre Gasly. The two collided, and Tsunoda was fuming over the team radio. He received penalties for causing the wreck, and Gasly was forced to retire with rear wing damage later in the race.

Debris from that incident also was lodged under the bottom of Max Verstappen’s car, resulting in a loss of performance as the Dutchman finished seventh. Marko said in an interview with Servus TV that the team hired a psychologist to work with the AlphaTauri driver on his temper. He’s known for having an aggressive approach to the sport, both in terms of driving and how he talks on the radio.

“We have organized a kind of psychologist to work with him, because he continued to rant in the corners, so that inhibits performance,” Marko said. “…We should keep our emotions in check. Thank God Max [Verstappen] is calm, our problem child in this respect, not only in this respect, is Tsunoda. He explodes on the radio, you wouldn’t believe it.”

AlphaTauri team principal Tost said ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, “I like problem [children] because these are the really good [children] who can make something out of it. I don’t like the holy [children]. 

“Yuki made a mistake [in Silverstone]; he knows it and he will work on this. He is still in his development process. He is fast. He was also fast this weekend here. And he will do it his way. It takes a little bit of time.”

Tost said he spoke with the drivers after Silverstone, adding that Tsunoda was “little bit too impatient” and “tried to out-brake” Gasly. 

“And immediately after the race I called Yuki into my office and told him that this is absolutely no-go and that he has to be more disciplined and patient. This was not the first collision between teammates and will not be the last one—hopefully with us—but we saw this in history Formula One a couple of times but nevertheless, this in any way must be avoided.”

Tsunoda commented on the new psychologist, mentioning that he previously worked with one in Formula Two. The driver credited that psychologist for helping him reach F1. 

“I think definitely one of the limitations is that I start to get quite overheated… overheated, especially my brain, in the car,” Tsunoda said ahead of Austria. “But I was in some situation that makes it slightly better. But I know that I have to improve myself, those parts, to have more consistency. So hopefully the new trainer will work well and we can work well for the future.”

Tost also addressed Tsundoa’s future with AlphaTauri last weekend. The team was quick to confirm Gasly would stay with them in 2023 but not much had been mentioned about the other AlphaTauri driver. 

“If he continues like he did during the season, apart from crashing, I think that he has a good chance to stay with us,” Tost said. “It depends on him. If he shows a good performance he will stay, if he doesn’t show a good performance, he is out. Totally easy.”