Christian Horner reveals the biggest ‘surprise’ he’s witnessed since Yuki Tsunoda joined Red Bull

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner was on the verge of an extremely difficult decision six months ago.

Sergio Perez was at the nadir of his Red Bull career, limping his way to the end of the 2024 F1 season.

When Red Bull confirmed Perez’s exit a few days after the final race of last season, Horner and chief advisor Helmut Marko had an important decision to make.

The free agent market had dried up, and so they had to turn to their sister team RB, now Racing Bulls, to choose Max Verstappen’s next teammate.

They opted for Liam Lawson over Yuki Tsunoda despite his lack of experience, however, it took Lawson just two races to show he wasn’t ready to step up at Red Bull to drive an incredibly difficult-to-handle car.

The Japanese driver was finally given his chance at his home race, despite Horner’s private concerns about Tsunoda last season.

However, he’s quickly changed his mind about the 24-year-old after working with him over the past few weeks.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda’s life outside F1 from height to parents

Christian Horner reveals the biggest ‘surprise’ about Yuki Tsunoda at Red Bull

Horner was speaking on The Inside Track and was talking about Tsunoda’s promotion.

He was asked about how he’s adapted to life at Red Bull and explained, “He is playing catch up, but I mean, he’s brought a real positive energy to the team.

“He’s a real character, and of course, what you can’t underestimate with him is his fifth year of experience now and that is immediately evident in the feedback that he’s providing.

“He’s been quite a surprise in terms of the depth and quality of the feedback that he’s providing.

“He’s finding his feet, his pace has been improving and improving. I mean Saudi was unlucky, I mean the last couple of races he’s been comfortably into Q3.

“If he’d have repeated his Q2 time in Q3, he would have been sixth on the grid, and a racing incident for him on the first lap was unlucky for him, but otherwise he would have had a competitive race.

“So, he’s finding his way, he’s endearing himself to the staff and the team with his games of ping pong just before qualifying and the race and his obsession with all types of food!

“He came and spoke to the factory the other day and was recommending restaurants in Milton Keynes for certain types of seafood which was unexpected.

“But, he’s quick, and he’s very, very determined and he I think will deliver some good results for us I’m sure as the season progresses.”

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Yuki Tsunoda needs to combine consistency with speed to thrive at Red Bull

As Horner alluded to, there have been plenty of bright spots to get excited about when it comes to Tsunoda since his promotion.

He was immediately closer to Verstappen during his first practice session in Japan compared to Lawson, but an error in qualifying prevented him from reaching Q3 at a track where overtaking was virtually impossible.

Tsunoda’s crash on the opening lap in Saudi Arabia is also a frustration, while his best performance came in Bahrain where the RB21 was at its slowest.

Marko has told Tsunoda where he needs to improve after his first three races with the team, and that highlights the pressure he’s still under within the team.

He’s once again entered the final year of his contract and needs to secure his future sooner rather than later to avoid losing out in Formula 1’s driver market.