Font size too small in apple email app. The recommended fixes are horrible.

The font in apple mail is difficult to read due to the large size of the preview pane on the left side of the screen. There’s no option to shrink the pane. The pane is the same size in gmail, it the font in gmail is fine. The solutions from apple are to go to settings and increase text size, but this changes the text size on everything, and it’s way too big. Yes, the email is easier to read now, but the search bar on browsers, the previews on the left side of the mail app, and everything else is absolutely huge! I want to be able to read emails without screwing up everything else on the iPad which is sized perfectly fine. Why is there no option to simply change font size on the mail app or shrink the preview pane? See the screenshots below, and notice how easy it is to read the gmail text compared to the apple mail text?