Japanese GP

The man himself frames it as fate. After an often frustrating four-year Formula 1 apprenticeship with Red Bull’s junior team, during which the prospect of promotion diminished and then seemed to vanish entirely, Yuki Tsunoda is now where he thinks he always should have been.

Trouble is, that’s what the driver he is replacing thought. And the one before him. And – rinse and repeat.

Being Max Verstappen’s team-mate is among the toughest gigs in F1, especially when coupled with the need to get to grips with a difficult car. And, while the casualty list indicates that it’s the car which is the problem rather than the people driving it, the reality is the second driver will always carry the can if Verstappen is the only one racking up the points.

Tsunoda’s job is to help fix the car, bolster his team-mate’s drivers’ title ambitions, and reboot Red Bull’s constructors’ championship campaign. If he can’t do that, Red Bull will replace him with someone who can.

To keep his seat, then, he’ll have to do a lot more than just allow team principal Christian Horner to win at board games…

1. Learn how to get the RB21 ‘in the window’ – fast

Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

When the flag drops, the you-know-what stops.

For all that Tsunoda has made confident noises about his experience of the RB21 in the simulator, saying he “didn’t find the car that difficult to drive”, reality is likely to present a stark difference. Verstappen himself says the RB21 is bothersome – and Liam Lawson’s failure to wrangle results from it is the reason for Tsunoda getting this opportunity in the first place.

Both Verstappen and Lawson have spoken of the RB21’s painfully narrow operating ‘window’, of inconsistent balance changes from corner to corner, and of the difficulty in managing tyre performance given its penchant for snap oversteer. While the engineering team’s mandate with this car was to trade off some peak performance to make it more benign than its predecessor, the experience of the first two grands prix this season suggests its peak remains challenging to access.

Sergio Perez, ejected last year in favour of Lawson, would frequently explain that as he made the RB20 more “comfortable” – i.e. less edgy – to drive, he would become slower. What Verstappen can do, and his number-twos haven’t, is lean on the front axle progressively enough through corners to avoid provoking the rear – and if you look at his in-car footage from any given track session you’ll see even he doesn’t get it right every time.

It was the lack of consistency from one corner to the next, and that tendency to snap into oversteer with no warning growl if the driver turned in slightly too aggressively, which killed Perez’s confidence and did the same to Lawson. If a four-time world champion is finding a car a handful, pity the merely ordinary driver in the garage next door.

For this reason, it’s wrong to expect Tsunoda to be faster than Lawson just because he achieved better results in the Racing Bulls car in Australia and China. And wrong, bordering on fatuous, to conclude that the RB21 is somehow inferior and relies upon Verstappen magic to run at or near the front.

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Racing Bulls has a more benign car whose performance peaks are therefore easier to access; it’s clear from Verstappen’s speed through demanding corners that the RB21 has more downforce. Red Bull’s problem is that only he can locate the sweet spot.

The Chinese Grand Prix revealed another troublesome quirk. Setting aside Lawson’s miserable race – he was trying a ‘radical’ set-up change which made the car even worse – Verstappen was a thoroughly anonymous presence in the opening stint, falling off the leading group.

The RB21 came alive on the C2s used for the first time in his second stint. It’s not unusual for cars to respond differently to an alternate compound, but this was a marked reversal.

All in all, Tsunoda has a lot to learn in a very short space of time. “My priority is to first understand the car, how it behaves compared to the VCARB,” he said last weekend. “If I can naturally enjoy driving it as I get familiar with it in FP1, then the results will follow.”

Seldom has the use of the word “if” come freighted with so many assumptions. He cannot afford to underestimate the magnitude of the challenge he faces.

2. Manage expectations

Yuki Tsunoda at the Red Bull Showrun Taichung

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Floating the possibility of finishing on the podium in his first race with Red Bull was perhaps not the wisest course of action Tsunoda has undertaken. Naturally there will be a great deal of scrutiny and expectation attending his maiden race outing for Red Bull in Japan this weekend – but, given the fate of his predecessors, he would do well to manage those expectations rather than inflate them.

It’s said that you can’t polish a turd, but you can roll it in glitter. This, in a nutshell, is Tsunoda’s mission at Red Bull – the team’s senior stakeholders felt that his greater F1 experience relative to Lawson’s could prove helpful in debugging the RB21.

You can ignore the platitudinous chat about Lawson’s welfare in last week’s statement from team boss Christian Horner. Red Bull isn’t a team which throws a comforting arm around the shoulder of a struggling driver – it’s one of the most hard-headed organisations on the grid.

Tsunoda has been moved across to do a job and his public pronouncements need to reflect that. Some of the quotes attributed to Lawson over the off-season made him sound a little cocky and Tsunoda can – should – learn from the speed with which Lawson’s confidence departed.

Helmut Marko has said Tsunoda is in for the rest of the season. That’s quite a statement from the man whose fingers are usually the itchiest on the trigger.

Lawson wasn’t given the time he needed to adapt to the car. Clearly the team felt this point lay too far in the future for its liking, hence his rapid firing.

What Tsunoda needs to do is be realistic about the timescales involved – both in his public pronouncements and behind closed doors – and ensure his goals are specific, measurable and attainable.

3. Build a working relationship with his new race engineer

Engineer Richard Wood alongside Sergio Perez in 2024

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

The well-documented challenges of finding a workable set-up for the RB21 place more emphasis on what is already an important factor in car performance: the relationship between the driver and their race engineer. Red Bull has confirmed to Autosport that Tsunoda will be working with Richard Wood, who stepped up this year after working as Perez’s performance engineer.

Although Wood is relatively new to the role, he was not seen as part of Lawson’s problem. As an established element of the Red Bull set-up, he will be able to help Tsunoda adapt to the way the team operates.

As evinced by the brouhaha surrounding Lewis Hamilton’s radio exchanges with his new Ferrari race engineer Riccardo Adami, it can take time for the relationship to gel, and for each of the parties to understand what the other wants and how to communicate it. But Tsunoda has recent experience of change in this department – his long-time engineer Mattia Spini was promoted last summer and replaced as Tsunoda’s engineer by Ernesto Desiderio.

4. Know when to keep his mouth shut

Yuki Tsunoda at the Red Bull Showrun Taichung

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

It’s understood that Lawson’s immediate proximity to Tsunoda’s pace when he replaced Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull’s junior team late last year was what swung the decision to slot him into the seat vacated by Perez. Red Bull management’s belief at the time was that he had more scope for improvement than Tsunoda and was more mentally resilient.

The popular view that Tsunoda’s tendency to throw tantrums over the team radio was the reason for overlooking him is not quite accurate. But his occasional shoutiness did contribute to the overall perception of Lawson as the more robust candidate.

Teams will (albeit grudgingly) accept diva behaviour – but only from drivers who are delivering the goods. Or those whose fathers own the team.

If Tsunoda is going to be truculent at times, he needs to earn the right to do so.

The man himself frames it as fate. After an often frustrating four-year F1 apprenticeship with Red Bull’s junior team, during which the prospect of promotion diminished and then seemed to vanish entirely, Yuki Tsunoda is now where he thinks he always should have been.

Trouble is, that’s what the driver he is replacing thought. And the one before him. And – rinse and repeat.

Being Max Verstappen’s team-mate is among the toughest gigs in F1, especially when coupled with the need to get to grips with a difficult car. And, while the casualty list indicates that it’s the car which is the problem rather than the people driving it, the reality is the second driver will always carry the can if Verstappen is the only one racking up the points.

Tsunoda’s job is to help fix the car, bolster his team-mate’s drivers’ title ambitions, and reboot Red Bull’s constructors’ championship campaign. If he can’t do that, Red Bull will replace him with someone who can.

To keep his seat, then, he’ll have to do a lot more than just allow team principal Christian Horner to win at board games…

1) Learn how to get the RB21 ‘in the window’ – fast

Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

When the flag drops, the you-know-what stops.

For all that Tsunoda has made confident noises about his experience of the RB21 in the simulator, saying he “didn’t find the car that difficult to drive”, reality is likely to present a stark difference. Verstappen himself says the RB21 is bothersome – and Liam Lawson’s failure to wrangle results from it is the reason for Tsunoda getting this opportunity in the first place.

Both Verstappen and Lawson have spoken of the RB21’s painfully narrow operating ‘window’, of inconsistent balance changes from corner to corner, and of the difficulty in managing tyre performance given its penchant for snap oversteer. While the engineering team’s mandate with this car was to trade off some peak performance to make it more benign than its predecessor, the experience of the first two grands prix this season suggests its peak remains challenging to access.

Sergio Perez, ejected last year in favour of Lawson, would frequently explain that as he made the RB20 more “comfortable” – i.e. less edgy – to drive, he would become slower. What Verstappen can do, and his number-twos haven’t, is lean on the front axle progressively enough through corners to avoid provoking the rear – and if you look at his in-car footage from any given track session you’ll see even he doesn’t get it right every time.

It was the lack of consistency from one corner to the next, and that tendency to snap into oversteer with no warning growl if the driver turned in slightly too aggressively, which killed Perez’s confidence and did the same to Lawson. If a four-time world champion is finding a car a handful, pity the merely ordinary driver in the garage next door.

For this reason, it’s wrong to expect Tsunoda to be faster than Lawson just because he achieved better results in the Racing Bulls car in Australia and China. And wrong, bordering on fatuous, to conclude that the RB21 is somehow inferior and relies upon Verstappen magic to run at or near the front.

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Racing Bulls has a more benign car whose performance peaks are therefore easier to access; it’s clear from Verstappen’s speed through demanding corners that the RB21 has more downforce. Red Bull’s problem is that only he can locate the sweet spot.

The Chinese Grand Prix revealed another troublesome quirk. Setting aside Lawson’s miserable race – he was trying a ‘radical’ set-up change which made the car even worse – Verstappen was a thoroughly anonymous presence in the opening stint, falling off the leading group.

The RB21 came alive on the C2s used for the first time in his second stint. It’s not unusual for cars to respond differently to an alternate compound, but this was a marked reversal.

All in all, Tsunoda has a lot to learn in a very short space of time. “My priority is to first understand the car, how it behaves compared to the VCARB,” he said last weekend. “If I can naturally enjoy driving it as I get familiar with it in FP1, then the results will follow.”

Seldom has the use of the word “if” come freighted with so many assumptions. He cannot afford to underestimate the magnitude of the challenge he faces.

2) Manage expectations

Yuki Tsunoda at the Red Bull Showrun Taichung

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Floating the possibility of finishing on the podium in his first race with Red Bull was perhaps not the wisest course of action Tsunoda has undertaken. Naturally there will be a great deal of scrutiny and expectation attending his maiden race outing for Red Bull in Japan this weekend – but, given the fate of his predecessors, he would do well to manage those expectations rather than inflate them.

It’s said that you can’t polish a turd, but you can roll it in glitter. This, in a nutshell, is Tsunoda’s mission at Red Bull – the team’s senior stakeholders felt that his greater F1 experience relative to Lawson’s could prove helpful in debugging the RB21.

You can ignore the platitudinous cant about Lawson’s welfare in last week’s statement from team boss Christian Horner. Red Bull isn’t a team which throws a comforting arm around the shoulder of a struggling driver – it’s one of the most hard-headed organisations on the grid.

Tsunoda has been moved across to do a job and his public pronouncements need to reflect that. Some of the quotes attributed to Lawson over the off-season made him sound a little cocky and Tsunoda can – should – learn from the speed with which Lawson’s confidence departed.

Helmut Marko has said Tsunoda is in for the rest of the season. That’s quite a statement from the man whose fingers are usually the itchiest on the trigger.

Lawson wasn’t given the time he needed to adapt to the car. Clearly the team felt this point lay too far in the future for its liking, hence his rapid firing.

What Tsunoda needs to do is be realistic about the timescales involved – both in his public pronouncements and behind closed doors – and ensure his goals are specific, measurable and attainable.

3) Build a working relationship with his new race engineer

Engineer Richard Wood alongside Sergio Perez in 2024

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

The well-documented challenges of finding a workable set-up for the RB21 place more emphasis on what is already an important factor in car performance: the relationship between the driver and their race engineer. Red Bull has confirmed to Motorsport.com that Tsunoda will be working with Richard Wood, who stepped up this year after working as Perez’s performance engineer.

Although Wood is relatively new to the role, he was not seen as part of Lawson’s problem. As an established element of the Red Bull set-up, he will be able to help Tsunoda adapt to the way the team operates.

As evinced by the brouhaha surrounding Lewis Hamilton’s radio exchanges with his new Ferrari race engineer Riccardo Adami, it can take time for the relationship to gel, and for each of the parties to understand what the other wants and how to communicate it. But Tsunoda has recent experience of change in this department – his long-time engineer Mattia Spini was promoted last summer and replaced as Tsunoda’s engineer by Ernesto Desiderio.

4) Know when to keep his mouth shut

Yuki Tsunoda at the Red Bull Showrun Taichung

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

It’s understood that Lawson’s immediate proximity to Tsunoda’s pace when he replaced Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull’s junior team late last year was what swung the decision to slot him into the seat vacated by Perez. Red Bull management’s belief at the time was that he had more scope for improvement than Tsunoda and was more mentally resilient.

The popular view that Tsunoda’s tendency to throw tantrums over the team radio was the reason for overlooking him is not quite accurate. But his occasional shoutiness did contribute to the overall perception of Lawson as the more robust candidate.

Teams will (albeit grudgingly) accept diva behaviour – but only from drivers who are delivering the goods. Or those whose fathers own the team.

If Tsunoda is going to be truculent at times, he needs to earn the right to do so.

Hundreds of Formula 1 fans lined the streets of Tokyo for one last chance to visit Honda’s Aoyama headquarters, the elegant white high-rise a stone’s throw away from the Olympic Stadium that hosted the 2021 summer games.

The iconic Aoyama building is set to be closed and redeveloped, with a new, state-of-the-art headquarters to be built by 2030 on the same site. Sunday’s closing ceremony celebrated both the building’s rich history and that of a new beginning for Honda Motor Company.

But Sunday’s event wasn’t just the celebration of a fresh start for Honda, but also for its favourite son Yuki Tsunoda. Just days earlier, the 24-year-old was announced as a Red Bull driver for the remainder of 2025 replacing the underperforming Liam Lawson, swapping seats from next weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.

As Honda’s partnership with Red Bull is set to end this year before it joins Aston Martin in 2026, the team’s initial decision to promote Lawson instead of Tsunoda meant a Red Bull move seemed like it would never happen for the latter.

Tsunoda joined the Red Bull junior team in 2019 in the wake of the team’s Honda deal and with the blessing of the manufacturer, he was promoted to an AlphaTauri F1 seat in 2021 – Honda and Red Bull then hoped to polish a raw diamond into a future Red Bull driver.

That year a rookie Tsunoda showed some flashes of brilliance that got him through the ranks, but also forged a reputation of being too hot under the collar and not capable enough of developing the car through precise technical feedback.

Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri AT02

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Despite four years of consistent progression, that reputation appeared hard to shake off, even internally at Red Bull. While members of AlphaTauri, now Racing Bulls, have been showering praise on how Tsunoda has matured into a team leader, there appeared little he could do to convince the likes of Christian Horner that he is no longer the raw source material, but the end product.

Tsunoda put on a brave face in public, but being overlooked by Red Bull year after year was hugely frustrating. He even looked heartbroken during the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix weekend after he was announced for an unprecedented fifth year at the satellite squad for 2025.

Surprisingly, he now finally gets his wish in extraordinary circumstances, at Honda’s home circuit in Suzuka of all places. Tsunoda will have never set foot in the Red Bull RB21 before he goes out in Friday’s first practice session in front of the passionate Japanese fans and the watchful eyes of Honda executives.

But for a man with the weight of expectations behind him, Tsunoda looked relaxed and cracked jokes with the 400 fans that were able to get into the Aoyama building’s welcome plaza as he shared the stage with his mentor and former WTCC driver Ryo Michigami.

“We don’t want to put too much pressure on you, but it’s impossible not to have high expectations,” Michigami suggested, to which a grinning Tsunoda replied: “Yes, please pile on the expectations and pressure!”

He admitted his move ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix initially felt “unreal”, but said he soon got down to business at Red Bull’s Milton Keynes factory.

Japanese fans show their support for Yuki Tsunoda, Visa Cash App RB F1 Team

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

“When I first got the call, I thought: ‘Wow, this is going to be interesting.’ I just felt: ‘I will switch to the other team’,” he said. “Of course, I was happy about joining Red Bull, but when I thought about it carefully, the idea of suddenly racing for Red Bull at the Japanese Grand Prix felt so unreal.

“At first, I was too busy to even take the time to fully appreciate the excitement. I had to jump straight into the simulator, do seat fittings, and take care of a lot of other preparations. Of course, getting promoted to Red Bull is an amazing opportunity, but before anything else, I wanted to talk to my [Racing Bulls] engineers and the people who had supported me, and thank them.”

On his seat fit in the 2025 Red Bull, he said: “Once you sit in an F1 cockpit, the view is the same. Sorry for the boring answer. Since I was a reserve driver this year, I had already done a seat fitting before. But back then I remember thinking, ‘Why am I even doing this? I’m not going to be racing anyway’. This time, I took the seat fitting seriously.”

Enjoying the experience, but aiming for the podium

Tsunoda didn’t appear daunted by the prospect of taming the bucking RB21, where many other drivers have struggled in the seemingly cursed seat alongside four-time world champion Max Verstappen. He said his initial feeling from the simulator was positive, although he admitted his glowing comments on testing the 2024 car in Abu Dhabi were cheekily aimed at convincing Red Bull to pick him over then team-mate Lawson.

“To be honest, that was a bit of a sales pitch. But still, I was able to drive it normally right away, so in that sense I do feel like it suits me,” he said when asked by the host about his only previous experience in a Red Bull F1 car. “I spent about two days in the simulator [with the 2025 car]. From that experience, I didn’t find the car to be that challenging to drive.

“I definitely got the impression that the front-end is very responsive, as people often say. But 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.”

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

But while he is under no illusion that the Suzuka weekend will present the challenge of a lifetime, that learning curve is not making him tone down his burning ambition to become the first Japanese driver to finish on the Japanese Grand Prix podium since Kamui Kobayashi in 2012.

“My ambition hasn’t changed. I don’t want to raise expectations too much, but for this Japanese Grand Prix I want to finish on the podium,” he said, this time very seriously. “That said, I know it won’t be easy right from the start. My priority is to first understand the car and 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.”

But above all, Tsunoda wants to soak in the experience and grab a unique opportunity to repay Honda for many years of support. “This is the final year of Red Bull and Honda’s partnership, so getting to race in Suzuka as a Red Bull Racing driver feels like fate,” he concluded.

“I want to fight with the best engine – Honda’s engine – while showing my gratitude for everything Honda has done. I hope to enjoy this experience together with all the fans. More than anything, I’m excited about the challenge ahead.

“There aren’t many moments in life where you face this kind of extreme pressure and an opportunity as big as this, so I can only imagine that it’s going to be an incredibly thrilling race.”

For Tsunoda, next week’s Red Bull debut is the culmination of a life-long dream, one that many feel could yet turn into a nightmare if he also struggles to get a tune out of the car like others before him. But with his longer term F1 future uncertain, Tsunoda wouldn’t want to have it any other way.

If Red Bull’s switch hadn’t materialised, Tsunoda’s lost Red Bull dream would have haunted him forever.

Yuki Tsunoda says he is targeting a podium spot at next week’s Japanese Grand Prix as he reacts to his shock Red Bull switch for the remainder of the 2025 Formula 1 season.

As anticipated by Motorsport.com in China last weekend, Red Bull confirmed on Thursday that it would promote Tsunoda to the seat alongside Max Verstappen meaning Liam Lawson is back at Racing Bulls after two difficult weekends in Melbourne and Shanghai.

But Tsunoda was fearful the chance to drive for Red Bull would never happen after four years and two grands prix with its satellite team. Yet, having made an excellent start to 2025, the Japanese driver is now getting the nod right in time for his home race at Suzuka.

Speaking in public for the first time since the move was announced at a Honda event in its Aoyama headquarters, Tsunoda said the switch felt “’unreal” but he is still highly ambitious for his debut.

“To be honest, I never expected to be racing for Red Bull at the Japanese Grand Prix,” Tsunoda said.

“This is the final year of Red Bull and Honda’s partnership, so getting to race in Suzuka as a Red Bull Racing driver feels like fate. Everything has fallen into place in just the right way for me to be standing here today.

Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

“Of course, I was happy about joining Red Bull, but when I thought about it carefully, the idea of suddenly racing for Red Bull at the Japanese Grand Prix felt so unreal.

“I don’t want to raise expectations too much, but for this Japanese Grand Prix, I want to finish on the podium. That said, I know it won’t be easy right from the start.

“My priority is to first 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.”

Tsunoda has never driven the RB21, so making his debut in Japan could be labelled a poisoned chalice. But the 24-year-old says he is embracing the enormous pressure that comes with the seat, despite its history of chewing up drivers.

“When I first got the call, I thought: ‘Wow, this is going to be interesting,'” he said. “More than anything, I’m excited about the challenge ahead.

“There aren’t many moments in life where you face this kind of extreme pressure and an opportunity as big as this, so I can only imagine that it’s going to be an incredibly thrilling race.

Yuki Tsunoda at the Red Bull Showrun Taichung

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“At first, I was too busy to even take the time to fully appreciate the excitement. I had to jump straight into the simulator, do seat fittings, and take care of a lot of other preparations.

“Of course, getting promoted to Red Bull is an amazing opportunity, but before anything else, I wanted to talk to my engineers and the people who had supported me. So, despite all the emotions, I actually felt quite calm.

“Since I was a reserve driver this year, I had already done a seat fitting before. But back then, I remember thinking: ‘Why am I even doing this? I’m not going to be racing anyway.'”

From his simulator time, Tsunoda said he didn’t find this year’s Red Bull “that challenging to drive”, although he admitted his comments on last year’s car – which he tested in Abu Dhabi – suiting his driving style was “a bit of a sales pitch” to Red Bull.

“I spent about two days in the simulator. From that experience, I didn’t find the car to be that challenging to drive,” he explained.

“I definitely got the impression that the front-end is very responsive, as people often say. But 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.”

When the interview’s host said they didn’t want to put too much pressure on Tsunoda, he jokingly replied: “Yes, please pile on the expectations and pressure!”

Yuki Tsunoda says he is targeting a podium spot at next week’s Japanese Grand Prix as he reacts to his shock Red Bull switch for the remainder of the 2025 Formula 1 season.

As anticipated by Autosport in China last weekend, Red Bull confirmed on Thursday that it would promote Tsunoda to the seat alongside Max Verstappen meaning Liam Lawson is back at Racing Bulls after two difficult weekends in Melbourne and Shanghai.

But Tsunoda was fearful the chance to drive for Red Bull would never happen after four years and two grands prix with its satellite team. Yet, having made an excellent start to 2025, the Japanese driver is now getting the nod right in time for his home race at Suzuka.

Speaking in public for the first time since the move was announced at a Honda event in its Aoyama headquarters, Tsunoda said the switch felt “’unreal” but he is still highly ambitious for his debut.

“To be honest, I never expected to be racing for Red Bull at the Japanese Grand Prix,” Tsunoda said.

“This is the final year of Red Bull and Honda’s partnership, so getting to race in Suzuka as a Red Bull Racing driver feels like fate. Everything has fallen into place in just the right way for me to be standing here today.

Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

“Of course, I was happy about joining Red Bull, but when I thought about it carefully, the idea of suddenly racing for Red Bull at the Japanese Grand Prix felt so unreal.

“I don’t want to raise expectations too much, but for this Japanese Grand Prix, I want to finish on the podium. That said, I know it won’t be easy right from the start.

“My priority is to first 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.”

Tsunoda has never driven the RB21, so making his debut in Japan could be labelled a poisoned chalice. But the 24-year-old says he is embracing the enormous pressure that comes with the seat, despite its history of chewing up drivers.

“When I first got the call, I thought: ‘Wow, this is going to be interesting,'” he said. “More than anything, I’m excited about the challenge ahead.

“There aren’t many moments in life where you face this kind of extreme pressure and an opportunity as big as this, so I can only imagine that it’s going to be an incredibly thrilling race.

Yuki Tsunoda at the Red Bull Showrun Taichung

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“At first, I was too busy to even take the time to fully appreciate the excitement. I had to jump straight into the simulator, do seat fittings, and take care of a lot of other preparations.

“Of course, getting promoted to Red Bull is an amazing opportunity, but before anything else, I wanted to talk to my engineers and the people who had supported me. So, despite all the emotions, I actually felt quite calm.

“Since I was a reserve driver this year, I had already done a seat fitting before. But back then, I remember thinking: ‘Why am I even doing this? I’m not going to be racing anyway.'”

From his simulator time, Tsunoda said he didn’t find this year’s Red Bull “that challenging to drive”, although he admitted his comments on last year’s car – which he tested in Abu Dhabi – suiting his driving style was “a bit of a sales pitch” to Red Bull.

“I spent about two days in the simulator. From that experience, I didn’t find the car to be that challenging to drive,” he explained.

“I definitely got the impression that the front-end is very responsive, as people often say. But 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.”

When the interview’s host said they didn’t want to put too much pressure on Tsunoda, he jokingly replied: “Yes, please pile on the expectations and pressure!”