Formula 1 is a gruesome sport that only gives you a chance to participate if you are competitive and deserving. Nepotism and connections too might have worked for a few of the drivers, but ultimately it’s the performance and success that have determined a driver’s fate. And for that, you need to be on top of your game, both physically and mentally. And to keep you in shape in both aspects, you need a performance coach. One such name, popular around the grid, is Michael Italiano, set to coach Yuki Tsunoda. During his career, he has been a close ally of the now Red Bull reserve driver, our beloved Daniel Ricciardo, as he coached him for five years starting in 2018. Now that Italiano doesn’t coach Ricciardo, he has revealed a characteristic of the fun-loving driver that is not widely known.

He reveals how the Honey Badger maintained the personal and professional lines during their time as coach and athlete. Italiano, as quoted by Sporting News, lauded Ricciardo‘s smooth professionalism saying, “One of the first questions I asked him was understanding when to put my ‘coaching hat’ on and when to put my ‘friend hat’ on. I also had to ask him to ensure that he respects me as a coach, because I know he respects me as a friend. But there also has to be an element of respect for me as a coach.”

“I guess I didn’t really know how it was going to go, but it actually was quite seamless. He knew when my tone was serious and I was firm, and then he knew when I was being a friend.”

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In sports and elsewhere, boundaries are crucial to be maintained. Otherwise, a rough fallout is always on the cards, and Ricciardo ensured that despite the hard times, such a situation didn’t arise.

What is the difference between coaching Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo?

Italiano will be coaching the AlphaTauri driver from this season onwards as he and Ricciardo decided to part ways. Now the coach has set the goal for Yuki, which is to outperform his rookie teammate, Nyck de Vries.

The coach also highlighted the difference between coaching Tsunoda and Ricciardo, saying, “I’m actually really excited to now take on a younger driver and almost nurture him in a way … give him my experience as an older person, being 10 years older than him.

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“And I want to take on a little bit more of a mentoring role and help him get through life, figure himself out and make sure that he’s improving in Formula 1.”

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Yuki has already started working with his new coach. Hopefully, the 22-year-old sails through the challenges he has come across so far and gets his first podium soon.