"Bloody f**king car is not a useful feedback" - Red Bull's Helmut Marko explains why Yuki Tsunoda needed a psychologist

Red Bull's Helmut Marko does not think it should be such a huge story that Yuki Tsunoda is going to a psychologist this season. The Red Bull chief advisor was questioned by Motorsport.com about the impact of the Japanese driver using a psychologist, to which this to which he said it was not such a big deal to be doing that.

Speaking about Yuki Tsunoda using a psychologist, Marko said that he was not the only driver that faced problems in the area. The Red Bull advisor pointed out that, unlike most Japanese people, Yuki Tsunoda is quite emotional and that if he is ultimately shouting on the team radio while taking a corner, then he is certainly losing time while doing it.

Marko said:

“Yes, but Tsunoda is not the only rider who has problems in this area and is taking advantage of it. It is also nothing objectionable. We have two Japanese under our care and the difference between them could not have been greater. Ayumu Iwasa takes pole position (in Formula 2, ed.) and says afterwards: 'sorry to be here'.’’

He further said:

“Yuki is completely different. He doesn’t care about anything. He is very emotional, especially for a Japanese. At one point, his outbursts on the radio went too far. While driving for Carlin, he learned English swear words. But if you’re cursing and ranting in the middle of a turn, that’s no good. Then you are slower. We explained that to him and that he should stop. In addition, the engineer has no use for feedback as a 'bloody fucking car'. We need to know exactly what the car does.’’

When questioned what the ceiling of the Japanese driver was, Helmut Marko felt that Tsunoda could be a race winner if he had the right car under him. He said:

“He has the potential to win Grands Prix. That’s what we’re aiming for with the junior program. To become a world champion, so many things have to fall into place. For that, a driver has to take another step as an overall personality, because in a crucial phase a driver can take the whole team in tow or help it down.’’

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Red Bull's sister team is falling short of the goal this season

Red Bull's sister team AlphaTauri has not had a good season this time around. The car, which was fifth fastest last season, does not appear to have the pace this time around as both drivers have struggled to score points regularly. Speaking to the publication about the plight of the Red Bull sister team, Marko said:

“No. AlphaTauri only came in Le Castellet with a major update. They haven’t had enough updates. The race there was bad. Gasly made a mistake trying to overtake and lost his points position. Ocon crashed into Yuki, whose car was badly damaged. The update is a small improvement and successful, now we have to build on it. But the goal of being successful in midfield is not being met at the moment.’’

AlphaTauri is currently eighth in the championship standings, as compared to the sixth-place finish it achieved last season.