“I don’t know about previous years. But this year, yeah.” This was Yuki Tsunoda’s response after being asked if he deserves a Red Bull seat. Tsunoda will face off against Liam Lawson in the final rounds of 2024, as Red Bull evaluate candidates to partner Max Verstappen. Despite all the speculation swirling around, Tsunoda remains level-headed.
Yuki Tsunoda faces third teammate at VCARB in just eighteen months
Tsunoda has been regularly underestimated over the last few seasons. When Nyck de Vries signed was announced as his teammate in 2023, the consensus was that De Vries would become VCARB’s team leader.
This narrative didn’t last long, with Tsunoda quickly establishing himself as the Faenza team’s benchmark.
In similar fashion, the Japanese driver fended off Ricciardo in their time together – despite the understandable excitement surrounding 8-time race winner’s F1 return.
Tsunoda’s next task is to outperform Liam Lawson over the next few weeks.
Red Bull are not convinced about Perez’s position within the team, with Christian Horner and Helmut Marko suggesting that a driver change ahead of 2025 is possible.
Tsunoda unphased by Lawson arrival and 2025 Red Bull speculation
In this context, there is an opportunity for both VCARB drivers. Should Sergio Perez continue to struggle, Red Bull are likely to make a change for next season.
With that said, Yuki Tsunoda insists that his approach remains the same – irrespective of speculation:
“This environment is all about performance and I just have to focus on what I have to improve. My main focus now is to score points for the team and have a successful year.
“Like we saw in our team, it’s performance-related all the time. If I perform well, hopefully those guys will see it. You never know, I never know. I can’t control those things anyway.
“It’s not my first time with teammates being changed, so it’s not a completely new environment – or something that makes me feel extra pressure.
“Pressure is always there, so I’ll do what I was doing previously.”
Before signing Perez in 2021, Red Bull promoted junior drivers with very little hesitancy. The Austrian team was never afraid to throw a youngster into the deep end after showing signs of potential.
Because of this, Tsunoda would be justified in being frustrated that he’s not been given an opportunity.
Still, the next few weeks are another chance for Tsunoda to demonstrate his abilities. If he manages to get the better of Lawson, it will become increasingly difficult for Red Bull to continue overlooking him.
