Yuki Tsunoda has struggled to adapt to the tricky RB21 following his promotion to Red Bull in Japan. Despite getting his car into the final segment of qualifying in two of the three grand prix, Tsunoda only has two points to his name following the switch. The Japanese racer scored more in the Racing Bull, where he was seated in that car for only two race weekends.
There is a stark contrast to fortune on the other side of the garage. Max Verstappen managed to win a race and put his RB21 in pole position after Tsunoda joined the team. The Dutchman is chasing the 2025 title, while Tsunoda is languishing near the bottom of the pile. With Verstappen able to extract every bit of performance from the RB21, Tsunoda has praised the four-time world champion’s sensitivity to the car.
Yuki Tsunoda highlights how Max Verstappen can get the most out of the RB21
Max Verstappen has beaten Yuki Tsunoda in every qualifying session and race since the Japanese driver joined the team. The 24-year-old believes that Verstappen can adapt his driving style to suit the 2025 challenger, while Tsunoda is not comfortable driving the RB21 yet.
Speaking exclusively to Pit Debrief, Tsunoda explained: “I think it’s like he can feel more than myself in the car, like how the tyre temp looks like immediately out of the garage. In qualifying, Suzuka was a good example.”
“The tyre temp is going lower and lower throughout qualifying and he adjusted Q1 to Q3. When the temperature is going lower, he adjusted it himself in warm-up how he should put pressure into the tyres in each corner, increase the lap time or increase the pace of the outlap or whatever. But for me, I didn’t feel it that way.”
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“I wasn’t able to feel that, which I did in the VCARB. But I wasn’t able to feel it in this car yet because I’m not fully relaxed driving in this car. I just feel like I’m still rushing and not fully in control.”
Yuki Tsunoda might be struggling to get close to his new teammate, but he has shown glimpses of pace. He has put his Red Bull into the top ten in the past two races. He put his car in the top eight in Saudi Arabia, the first second driver to do so since Sergio Perez in the 2024 Azerbaijan GP. There are signs Tsunoda could be getting to grips with his new car. Now he needs to close the gap to Verstappen and take points off the title rivals.
Can Yuki Tsunoda propel Red Bull forward?
Yuki Tsunoda was brought in to replace Liam Lawson after the Kiwi struggled to extract any performance from the RB21. Tsunoda is more experienced and has shown he can tame the RB21 better than Lawson. Yuki has been able to score points and qualify well, but is he doing enough?
Tsunoda was not brought in to challenge Verstappen, but he is expected to have a similar pace. Tsunoda is falling short of this is and was way off in qualifying in Japan and Saudi Arabia. They need him to score big points if Red Bull is to start clawing back the deficit to McLaren and Mercedes.
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However, Tsunoda is still getting acclimated to the car. He had pre-season testing in the Racing Bulls, a slower but easier car to drive. The Japanese driver has to change how he is used to driving to tame the 2025 challenger. Once he gets on top of that, he can progress and push the car higher up the grid. He has already shown during his Racing Bulls stint that he is fast. Now, he needs to prove it in the Red Bull pressure cooker.
