It was only a few months ago that Yuki Tsunoda missed out on a Red Bull contract. At the time, the decision to put Lawson alongside Verstappen seemed hugely damaging for Tsunoda’s career – given the lack of available seats for 2026.
In a shocking turn of events, the 24-year-old must rise to the challenge of adapting to the RB21 from the Japanese GP.
Without any testing in Red Bull’s 2025 challenger, Tsunoda is being thrown into the deep-end.
Despite this, he is keeping a level-head when approaching his first weekend for the Milton Keynes outfit.
At least initially, his sensations about the RB21 are encouraging.
Tsunoda not intimidated by prospect of joining Red Bull
Since Pierre Gasly’s move to Alpine, Tsunoda has wasted no time in establishing himself as the reference at VCARB.
Having dispatched of De Vries and Ricciardo, the Japanese driver’s belief he deserved a Red Bull seat became more explicit as last season progressed.
In various statements to the media, Tsunoda explained he would work to overcome any unfavourable characteristics of his Red Bull cars.
It was at the post-season test in Abu Dhabi when Tsunoda could speak with most authority on this issue.
He described the RB20 as a car which suits his “driving style”, downplaying suggestions he would struggle at the main team.
Of course, these comments failed to convince Red Bull to promote him for the start of 2025. For all intents and purposes, his post-season test was a formality – with Lawson already selected as Perez’s successor prior.
Still, with Tsunoda now a Red Bull driver, his feedback becomes important to note.
His comments are consistent with Christian Horner’s recent remarks that Tsunoda performed “very well” in the RB20.
Inevitable, the Red Bull team principal’s quotes beg the question – why wasn’t Tsunoda promoted earlier?
Whilst this is a valid point to raise, it does not necessarily change the state of play at Milton Keynes.
Max Verstappen cannot being the only consistent source of points in the RB21.
Despite the tricky circumstances surrounding his promotion. Tsunoda must rise to the challenge.
Initial reaction to RB21 simulator session
It would be a stretch to suggest that definitive conclusions about driver performance can be drawn from simulator sessions.
There is always a significant difference between the simulation and reality – particularly with this current generation of cars.
Still, this is not to suggest that such a crucial aspect of driver and team preparation should be overlooked.
Speaking at an event ahead of this weekend’s Japanese GP, Tsunoda explained his Red Bull outlook:
“My priority is to understand the car, how it behaves compared to the VCARB.
“If I can naturally enjoy driving it as I get familiar with it in FP1, then the results will follow.
“And if that leads to a podium finish, that would be incredible.
“I spent about two days in the [Red Bull] simulator,” revealed Tsunoda.
“From that experience, I didn’t find the car that challenging to drive.
“If you ask whether it felt tricky to handle, I wouldn’t say it gave me a particularly strange feeling, at least in the simulator.
“Of course, how I want to set up the car is probably different from Max.
“I want to develop my own car set-up, get a good understanding of it, and gradually get up to speed from FP1.”
