Yuki Tsunoda admits Red Bull F1 car “trickier” to drive than expected
The Red Bull recruit gives his verdict on the RB21 after Friday practice at Suzuka.
Yuki Tsunoda has admitted that Red Bull’s 2025 Formula 1 car is “trickier” to drive than he expected after his first on-track running in the RB21 in Friday practice for the Japanese Grand Prix.
Tsunoda had previously stated that Red Bull’s latest challenger wasn’t as “challenging” or “strange” as many had claimed after sampling it in a simulator last week.
This had suggested that the Japanese driver may have an easier time gelling with a car in which Liam Lawson struggled so much that he was demoted from the team after just two races.
However, having now actually driven the RB21 in the real world at Suzuka, Tsunoda has a different opinion about the behaviour of the car.
Yuki Tsunoda describes 2025 Red Bull F1 car
Asked for his first impressions of Red Bull’s 2025 F1 car, which finished on the podium in Australia in the hands of Max Verstappen, he told F1’s official website: “What I felt is a bit different to the simulator, to be honest. Maybe a little bit more than I expected in terms of the car feeling.
“I knew anyway it's going to be always a bit different in the real car [but] it was just a little bit more exaggerated in the real car. [It is] feeling a bit more tricky.”
Former Racing Bulls driver Tsunoda has been drafted into Red Bull’s flagship team after Lawson’s tricky start to the season in Australia and China, with the two drivers effectively swapping places on the grid.
Tsunoda had previously got a chance to drive Red Bull’s 2024 F1 car at the Abu Dhabi test in December, but this weekend marks his first outing as an official Red Bull driver.
The 24-year-old made an immediate impression in FP1 on Friday, setting the sixth-fastest overall time and ending up just a tenth slower than teammate Verstappen.
On Friday afternoon, he was unable to set a flying lap due to constant stoppages, while Verstappen finished eighth in the sister car.
Tsunoda said there is “still a lot of work to do” overnight, as he continues his preparation for his home race weekend at Suzuka.
“FP1 was better than expected, good start for myself,” he said when asked to sum up his day.
“[In] FP2, I didn't set a lap time. I think lots of work to do. maybe slightly struggled or something. We have to look through data in fp2 more.
“But so far overall it's okay. I just have to be a bit more confident.”
