Jacques Villeneuve: “Safe” setup gamble cost Yuki Tsunoda on Red Bull debut

1997 F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve thinks Yuki Tsunoda’s conservative setup choice backfired, as he failed to score points on his Red Bull debut at the Japanese Grand Prix.

This weekend was Tsunoda’s first race for Red Bull, stepping in for Liam Lawson, who has been demoted to Racing Bulls.

Despite showing flashes of pace, Tsunoda could not make it into Q3, settling for 14th on the grid after Carlos Sainz’s penalty for impeding.

Overtaking was difficult on race day, so Tsunoda only managed to move up two places, ultimately finishing 12th.

Unlike teammate Max Verstappen, Tsunoda opted for a bigger rear ring and thus more downforce.

However, with more downforce, there’s more drag, meaning it’s difficult to overtake due to the lack of straight-line speed.

Villeneuve believes this setup choice was to blame for Tsunoda’s failure to finish in the top 10.

“He went for the safe solution, to bolt a lot of wing onto that car,” he said during Sky Sports’ F1 coverage.

“But as soon as they started pushing in quali and in the race, it just didn’t pay off. And it was never going to.”

Naomi Schiff added: “It was a poignant reminder that these 53 laps were the longest he’d had in the car.

“We had curtailed sessions over this weekend which would have stunted his learning curve.”

“Mixed feelings” for Yuki Tsunoda

Tsunoda is taking the positives from his Red Bull debut despite a disappointing result on home soil.

“I am happy with that race, in terms of my performance and the result,” Tsunoda said.

“It was tough, for my home grand prix I expected more. I wanted to finish in the points. So, mixed feelings.

“These 53 laps are the most I’ve had in this car. Every lap I learned. I felt more controlled towards the end of the race.”

Team principal Christian Horner is confident Tsunoda will “make a step forward” in the next races.

Japan is part of a triple-header, with Bahrain and Saudi Arabia coming up.

Horner explained: “Bahrain is a completely different challenge. This race was dominated by qualifying, 90% of the drivers finished where they qualified.

“He made one pass, we undercut Pierre during the pit stops, then he was stuck behind Fernando.

“He styled himself into the car and the team. He should make a step forward in the next races.”