F1 Panel: Is Yuki Tsunoda doing enough to prove Red Bull right?

Yuki Tsunoda finally got his chance at the Red Bull main team after four full seasons and two races with the junior squad. But the challenge is proving to be difficult, with stand-out performances still missing. A mere 12th place in Japan, two points in Bahrain and a first-lap crash in Jeddah are not results a Red Bull driver can be proud of. Yet, Tsunoda has at least shown more promise than Liam Lawson did, avoiding Q1 eliminations and reaching Q3 twice.

Is that enough evidence that Red Bull made the right call by swapping Lawson for him? Our international panel of experts have their say.

A steady start that needs refinement, not panic

When I asked Helmut Marko to share his impression of Tsunoda so far, the answer was: “Positive, but he needs to learn to deliver under pressure in Q3 as well.” Indeed, Tsunoda’s Q3 performance in Jeddah wasn’t the best, but the fact that he was there for two consecutive race weekends is already a big plus. Tsunoda is even the first driver in the second Red Bull to do so in over half a year. That says everything about the struggles the team has faced with the second seat.

Tsunoda immediately showed his value by ‘just being there’, giving Max Verstappen a distant tow that proved important to secure pole position. These are exactly the things the Red Bull leaders are looking for. Deep down, everybody knows that the Milton Keynes-based team won’t fight for the constructors’ title this year, but any help for Verstappen in his hunt for a fifth consecutive drivers’ title is very much welcomed by Marko and Christian Horner.

Tsunoda has to simply continue on this path: getting into Q3, bringing home solid points and helping the team where he can. The only risk, especially given his temper, is overdriving and crashing a car that’s already difficult to handle, as he starts chasing the last tenths that are missing compared to Verstappen. But he shouldn’t look at his team-mate too much. If Tsunoda can keep his calm, then he shows that promoting him might have been the right decision after all – even if the way Lawson has been treated remains harsh.

– Ronald Vording

Red Bull made the right choice – just too late

Finding the right team-mate for Verstappen is a problem Red Bull has had for many years. The choice to entrust the second RB21 to Tsunoda is the latest episode of a long soap opera, but in this case the choice was correct. Yuki has gained the right experience at Racing Bulls and is now able to face the difficulties and pressure that come with driving a Red Bull. We have seen him reach Q3 in the last two races, and the more he improves his feeling with the car, the more he will be able to aim to bring points to the team.

The Tsunoda choice is correct. The mistake was made last December, when Marko and Horner decided to promote Lawson despite the fact that he had never competed in a full Formula 1 season. Without the right foundations, Liam was exposed to an almost impossible task, ending up humiliated after only two race weekends.

Red Bull keeps searching for the new Verstappen by replicating the method that worked with Max – and only with him. In the meantime, it continues to burn drivers who probably, in other conditions, could have given much more.

– Roberto Chinchero

Good fortune and more time – but output still lags

Tsunoda’s first races with Red Bull have left hope that has yet to materialize. After scoring his first points in Bahrain, his Sunday in Jeddah ended within seconds of the lights going out – not ideal when you’re trying to quickly convince everyone that you were the right (yet maybe hasty) choice.

Yes, until FP3 in Saudi Arabia he seemed closer to Verstappen, but then came qualifying and he was a world away – almost a second behind – which is not the kind of margin Marko has ever found acceptable for Red Bull’s second driver. Still, he qualified in the top 10, which left him in a position to score in the race and therefore continue to justify his promotion.

Tsunoda’s fortune is twofold: on the one hand, Lawson at Racing Bulls is not proving that his demotion was undeserved either. In Jeddah, young Isack Hadjar outperformed him again, potentially making the Frenchman the next contender should Red Bull consider another change.

On the other hand, Tsunoda’s advantage is that two driver changes in the same year is too much – even for Red Bull. If the team doesn’t plan to drop him from the RB21, he has all the time in the world – still 19 races – far more than Lawson was given.

But, purely in terms of numbers, Tsunoda has only scored two more points than Lawson, despite having contested one more race (two points in three races versus zero in two). That’s hardly the level of contribution Red Bull is looking for, especially as it targets the drivers’ championship with Verstappen while facing a real threat of slipping to fourth in the constructors’ standings.

– Jose Carlos de Celis

On the cusp of progress, but pressure is rising

It’s fair to say that Tsunoda’s initial Red Bull stint hasn’t been great. But there are mitigating factors to argue that it was just above the ‘acceptable’ level. He was thrust into the seat to do the ‘toughest job in F1’ just before a triple-header, and that’s not the most inviting scenario.

The biggest problem so far has been qualifying. Tsunoda has made Q3 twice, but the gap to Verstappen is still too big – and he’s spent all three races stuck behind slower cars. That remains a priority, and it’s certainly something Red Bull tried to address by organising a test session for its new driver before Miami.

He clearly needs more time – and the cautious comments from Red Bull bosses suggest that they want to take some pressure off him, as it proved impossible for Lawson to handle. There are signs Tsunoda may be on the verge of a breakthrough, as he has shown flashes of speed in some sessions, but the task is to put laps together in the most important ones.

With Miami being a sprint weekend, there will be less practice time, but more opportunities to prove himself in meaningful sessions. Making sure he gets the most out of them should be Tsunoda’s top priority. But the step forward is clearly needed – and the longer it takes, the more pressure he’ll feel.

– Oleg Karpov