Tsunoda says he’s been targeted by F1 broadcast directors
According to the Japanese driver, he has been intentionally singled out by Formula One broadcast executives.
Yuki Tsunoda, the driver for the Racing Bulls team (previously known as Alfa Tauri), has recently expressed his concerns that his outbursts on the team radio during a race were intentionally broadcasted on Formula 1 broadcasts to create a negative image of him.
Tsunoda has been known for his ‘outspokenness’ since his Formula 1 debut in 2021. Although his comments have become less frequent over time, they resurfaced at the Bahrain Grand Prix when he was asked to let his teammate Daniel Ricciardo pass in the race’s final stages.
Despite initially objecting, Tsunoda eventually followed the order, albeit a few laps later. Ultimately, he aggressively attacked Ricciardo in the eighth corner, nearly causing a collision between the two.
Daniel was left unimpressed after the chequered flag 😨#F1 #Formula1 #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/buuONwnK8M
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 2, 2024
Throughout the entire time, radio communication was being closely monitored by the broadcast directors. They even uploaded a video clip on social media. This made Tsunoda believe that he had become a target. He suspected that his radio was specifically chosen to be broadcast during all of the sessions.
“It’s still a learning process, and probably what I showed on Saturday [in Bahrain] was [the] opposite. But I keep reminding myself just before I jump into the car ‘not pressing radio’, but just those things, I think also they love to pick myself to be honest, [for] those radio [messages].”
F1 driver Yuki Tsunoda is always cursing up a storm while he’s on the track 😂 pic.twitter.com/nvaZh4JxJX
— BroBible (@BroBible) April 21, 2021
“I’m not shouting [how] it looks on the radio, on the TV. I don’t know, the more I say, it’s getting worse. So I’m just going to say I’ll just try my best to improve. And you’ll see it on the track from these races onwards.”