F1 News: Tsunoda goes into Japanese GP with zero RB21 seat time
Yuki Tsunoda is being thrown into the Red Bull fire at the upcoming Japanese GP having never driven the car because in preseason testing and the first two grand prix he drove for the Red Bull ‘B’ team – Racing Bulls.
–by Mark Cipolloni–
Tsunoda is replacing Liam Lawson with immediate effect after Lawson was unable to overcome the extremely ‘loose’ oversteer nature of the RB21. Tsunoda will be racing for Red Bull’s ‘A’ team in front of his Japanese fans – added pressure, but also added incentive to do well.
Tsunoda reacted to the Red Bull promotion on X:
ready for the challenge ahead
挑戦への覚悟はできている pic.twitter.com/T7pyPSi26R
— 角田裕毅/Yuki Tsunoda (@yukitsunoda07) March 27, 2025
A loose race car is a fast race car, if you are talented enough to drive it
The fastest way around a racetrack is with a ‘loose’ race car, but only the most talented drivers can handle a loose race car. The Red Bull car has evolved into an extremely loose beast and only the most talented driver to ever race in F1 – Max Verstappen – can make it go fast.
Related Article: F1 News: Alguersuari explains why Verstappen is the greatest ever
Yuki Tsunoda likes a slightly loose race car and hence Red Bull hopes that he will fare better in the RB21 than Lawson, who only lasted two race weekends where he qualified at the back.
Last year’s Red Bull RB20 was also a loose car, but slightly less than so than this years RB21. Tsunoda had one day to drive the RB20 – at Abu Dhabi last year in the post-season Pirelli tire test.
He had this to say after the test, “We have had a very proactive day today so I am really happy with that. There is still a lot of learning that I have to do but the team have done a great job of preparing such a great run today, it’s been such an enjoyable atmosphere in the garage.
“I feel like the car suits my driving style and I haven’t struggled much at all to adapt, even on the long runs I have been able to run consistently today and was able to feel the limitations of the car which if you don’t have confidence in the car you are unable to test. I am happy more than ever at the moment and making sure that the team have the information that they require from each run is the most important thing to get out of today.”
Given that Tsunoda liked the RB20, Red Bull is hopeful that Tsunoda will quickly adapt to the RB21 at Suzuka and deliver better results for the team than Liam Lawson, Sergio Perez, Alex Albon, and Pierre Gasly before him.
Tsunoda is up against the greatest ever
In a recent interview, former Red Bull driver Alex Albon who drove alongside Max Verstappen, discussed Verstappen’s unique driving style, likening it to a highly sensitive mouse setting with the handling, and also mentioned Verstappen’s resilience, saying he can “drag something out of it” even in a tough weekend.
Albon described Verstappen’s driving as “eye-watering” and compared it to a highly sensitive mouse setting with the handling, suggesting Verstappen can extract the maximum performance from a car, even one that is not inherently stable.
Albon highlighted Verstappen’s resilience, stating that even during a poor weekend with an unideal car, Verstappen can still find a way to perform well.
Red Bull to again run white livery at Suzuka
Rumor has it that the Milton Keynes outfit is set to don a special paint scheme on its car for the Japanese Grand Prix. The Austrian team will feature a white livery at the Suzuka race in honor of its partnership with Japanese engine manufacturer Honda, which is concluding this season.
The white livery tribute set to feature at the Japanese Grand Prix is expected to mirror a similar gesture from the 2021 season, when the Milton Keynes team donned a similarly colored livery at the Turkish Grand Prix.
The 2021 livery was inspired by Honda’s first-ever victory in Formula 1, which came with the RA272 car driven by Richie Ginther at the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix.
