{"id":32379,"date":"2025-04-04T04:58:20","date_gmt":"2025-04-04T08:58:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=32379"},"modified":"2025-04-04T04:58:20","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T08:58:20","slug":"tsunoda-rb21-more-different-than-expected-to-the-simulator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/04\/04\/tsunoda-rb21-more-different-than-expected-to-the-simulator\/","title":{"rendered":"Tsunoda: RB21 more “different than expected” to the simulator"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yuki Tsunoda<\/a> got up to speed relatively quickly in his first official session as a Red Bull driver. The 24-year-old went 6th fastest in FP1, setting a very clean lap to finish only a tenth behind Max Verstappen.<\/p>\n

In the context surrounding Red Bull in recent years, this was a very encouraging start.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for Tsunoda, four red flags in FP2 prevented him from completing a representative qualifying simulation on soft tyres.<\/p>\n

He also didn’t have enough time to complete a race run – which will complicate the Red Bull driver’s weekends.<\/p>\n

Still, Tsunoda has a general feel for the RB21<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Yuki Tsunoda: FP1 was a good start, FP2 more difficult<\/h2>\n

The last few weeks have been chaotic for Red Bull, whose driver swap has dominated F1 headlines in the build-up to Japan.<\/p>\n

Tsunoda’s arrival represents a last-minute attempt to reinforce Max Verstappen with a teammate capable of fighting with the other front-runners.<\/p>\n

For obvious reasons, Lawson’s brief stint at Red Bull<\/a> has casted doubt into drivability of the RB21.<\/p>\n

Perhaps with a full pre-season at Red Bull, Tsunoda would be in a relatively comfortable place in terms of performance.<\/p>\n

However, with just two hours of interrupted running under his belt, qualifying and race day will be a step into the unknown.<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>