Yuki Tsunoda enjoyed his best Formula 1 season to date in 2024. While it wasn’t enough to earn a Red Bull seat in the end, it may help him secure an alternative frontrunning drive in the future.
Tsunoda scored 30 points to finish 12th in the championship – both career-highs. Points tallies alone can be misleading, but it was his performance relative to his teammates that highlighted his progress.
The Japanese driver comfortably beat Daniel Ricciardo in qualifying (12-6) before the Australian lost his seat following the Singapore GP. Tsunoda also had the edge in the races, but the margin was closer (8-6).
At the beginning of the year, Ricciardo was expected to be the team’s de facto number one. His 2023 comeback had been disrupted by a hand injury, but now he’d had a full off-season to prepare.
The former Red Bull and McLaren driver arrived at the team with eight wins and 32 podiums to his name. It was supposed to be his path back to the seat alongside Max Verstappen.
But in the end, Tsunoda’s superior performances appear to have ended Ricciardo’s career. Liam Lawson would also lose out to the 24-year-old (5-0 in qualifying, 4-1 in the races), but the margin between the two was small enough for Christian Horner to take a punt on a driver with only 11 races of experience.
Racing Bulls boss Laurent Mekies hails Daniel Ricciardo role in Yuki Tsunoda’s improved feedback
Speaking to Motorsport.com, Racing Bulls team principal Laurent Mekies reflected on Ricciardo’s contribution to Tsunoda’s success. He was able to learn from the ‘race-winning approach’ on the other side of the garage.
Even though the Australian was clearly a long way past his best, he still showcased some elite attributes. Horner was worried about Tsunoda’s communication with his engineers, but he’s improved in that department after watching Ricciardo guide the team’s car development.
Tsunoda has shown formidable raw speed at times but must offer a refined overall package before a top team is willing to move for him. While much of the focus is on the Red Bull snub, it’s perhaps telling that he was never part of the conversation for the vacant Mercedes drive.
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In what will be his first season at the effective junior team, Tsunoda will partner Isack Hadjar. He’ll be expected to beat the rookie rather emphatically, though Mekies may also look to him to offer guidance as he takes on an unfamiliar leadership role.
“There was a huge benefit for the team and for Yuki in terms of Daniel’s technical feedback, direction of development, race-winning approach,” Mekies said. “Having somebody that knows how it is in a team that wins races, that fights for championships, is setting the benchmark and that counts a lot in a time where you are trying to build the team and target better results.
“That benefit has been huge, also in terms of car understanding and car development. And I think Yuki has been developing a good relationship with Daniel to the extent that he has been able to absorb quite a lot of that and to keep progressing himself in that area.”
What Red Bull engineers said about Yuki Tsunoda before Liam Lawson got the seat
Marko says Tsunoda is a ‘very emotional driver’, which counted against him in the battle to replace Sergio Perez. Red Bull were worried he’d unravel up against notorious career killer Max Verstappen.
Even if Lawson may not have the same outright pace right now, there’s confidence that he can break the post-Ricciardo trend at Milton Keynes, whereas Tsunoda may extend it. Still, the concerns may not be entirely justified.
Tsunoda likened himself to a ‘Monsters Inc’ character given his past outbursts on the team radio. But he said he’d taken inspiration from Ricciardo to calm himself down, and there have been markedly fewer angry messages from his cockpit this year.
It will be especially disheartening for the 87-race driver to see that progress overlooked. Strangely, given their long-term doubts, Red Bull rejected three offers for Tsunoda ahead of the 2025 season.
