Yuki Tsunoda says he found Red Bull’s car “more tricky” to handle than he had expected during his first practice sessions for the team at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Tsunoda was last week promoted from Red Bull’s junior team Racing Bulls to a seat alongside reigning world champion Max Verstappen, as Liam Lawson was remarkably demoted just two races into the 2025 Formula 1 season.
Making his Red Bull debut at his home event on Friday, Tsunoda initially appeared to fare well as he finished one place – and just a tenth of a second – behind Verstappen in first practice.
The 24-year-old was 18th in an unrepresentative second session interrupted by four red flags, but admitted afterwards that he had found the troublesome RB21 challenging.
Tsunoda said: “FP1 was better than expected. A good start for myself.
“FP2 I didn’t even set a lap time. Lots of work to do.
Christian Horner talks through his early impressions of new Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda during the first practice session of the Japanese GP
“Maybe slightly struggled or there’s something we have to look into the data for FP2 but so far it was okay, I just need to build the confidence more.”
Tsunoda had said earlier this week in his first interviews since joining the team that he had enjoyed driving the RB21 on the simulator at Red Bull’s Milton Keynes factory and thought it might suit his driving style.
But on Friday, he said: “It’s a bit different to the simulator, what I felt. Maybe more than expected in terms of car feeling.
“I knew it would always be a bit different in the real car and it was a bit more exaggerated in the real car, feeling a bit more tricky.”
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Verstappen: Things not clicking for me
Tsunoda was not alone in finding the car difficult to drive, with Verstappen also struggling with his set-up as he ended second practice in eighth.
While Practice Two was a strange session, Red Bull’s struggles were highlighted by the fact that both Racing Bulls cars finished ahead of the senior team.
Isack Hadjar was third, while Lawson claimed fifth on his return to the junior squad.
Max Verstappen revealed early weekend struggles, saying the car is ‘not clicking’ after practice on day one of the Japanese Grand Prix
Verstappen said: “It was quite chaotic for everyone out there with all the red flags.
“Today has been quite difficult for me. We tried a lot of different things with the car but it seems like a lot of things are not really clicking at the moment, so it’s quite difficult to put the lap down.
“You need a lot of confidence and commitment around here. At the moment, I don’t feel like I can use that so I still have quite a bit of work to do.”
Verstappen has already displayed his ability to maximise the car’s potential with second and fourth-placed finishes to start the season, but would currently appear to have little hope of challenging McLaren’s impressive pace in Suzuka for the remainder of the weekend.
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Horner: Positive start for Tsunoda
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said after Practice One that Tsunoda had made “a positive start” with the team.
Horner said that Tsunoda impressively being within a tenth of a second of Verstappen was not a result of the Japanese driver being given more power than his team-mate in the RB21.
He told Sky Sports F1: “They were both identical engine modes.
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“That’s a positive start for Yuki. He knows the circuit very well here. His feedback is very clear, very concise in the car.
“It’s just the start of his journey with the team and there’s plenty to get into.”
While they might have been running the same engine mode, Horner did suggest that Tsunoda’s car would be set up differently to Verstappen’s in an attempt to make it more driveable.
Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda takes an older version of his new team’s car for a spin on the streets of Toyko ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend. Courtesy of Red Bull
Asked about the long-term struggles of Verstappen’s team-mates, Horner said: “I think we have to provide a different set-up.
“Max’s ability to extract lap time from the car is unique and I think that we haven’t seen another driver able to do that in the way that Max is able to.
“So therefore, I think you need to give almost a calmer car to whoever is the other driver, to give a more settled and predictable feel.
“That’s not necessarily the quickest car but it is definitely a more confidence-inspiring car for whichever driver.”
Sky Sports F1’s live Japanese GP schedule
Look back at some of the most dramatic moments to have taken place at the Japanese Grand Prix
Saturday April 5
- 3.15am: Japanese GP Practice Three (session starts at 3.30am)*
- 6am: Japanese GP Qualifying build-up*
- 7am: Japanese GP Qualifying*
- 9am: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook*
Sunday April 6
- 4.30am: Japanese GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday*
- 6am: THE JAPANESE GRAND PRIX*
- 8am: Japanese GP reaction: Chequered Flag*
- 9am: Ted’s Notebook*
*also live on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula is at the iconic Suzuka Circuit for the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – No contract, cancel anytime
