Yuki Tsunoda only has three points on the board after the first two races. Looking at that statistic alone, it would be hard to understand why Red Bull have promoted him at the expense of Liam Lawson.
Indeed, Tsunoda sits 13th in the championship, one spot behind rookie Oliver Bearman. But the table doesn’t reflect how well he’s driven so far.
Over a single lap, the Japanese driver has been rapid. He’s maintained a 100% Q3 and SQ3 record, with the highlight a magnificent P5 in Melbourne.
Tsunoda was lapping at a similar pace to Max Verstappen in China last time out before an off in the final sector. He could have displaced the Dutchman from the second row.
The 24-year-old was running sixth fairly comfortably for much of the race in Australia before a chaos-inducing late shower. He was one of the strategic losers, dropping out of the points.
And in Shanghai, a two-stop strategy backfired before a bizarre front-wing failure. He was the last classified finisher, but did at least have a P6 in the Sprint to show for his weekend.
Yuki Tsunoda looked ‘stronger’ than ever before Red Bull promotion, Helmut Marko says
In an interview with ServusTV, Helmut Marko addressed the reasons for Tsunoda’s promotion. He’s been impressed by the change he’s seen in the 2021 debutant over the winter.
Red Bull snubbed him in favour of Lawson when they needed a replacement for Sergio Perez. Christian Horner said Tsunoda was ‘more motivated than ever’, rather than downbeat.
And Marko says he arrived for the new season with renewed psychological stability, as well as an improved physique. Every F1 driver is an elite athlete, but the fitter they are, the less likely they are to make mistakes in some of the year’s most demanding races.
“The other reason [for the swap] was that Yuki Tsunoda made another leap forward over the winter,” Marko said. “He is more stable as a person.
“He has become physically stronger, and his last two races were going really well. Of course you have to take the team perspective into account.
“We need two drivers for the constructors’ world championship and also for the strategy, because if you have a second car then there are simply more options available.”
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Tsunoda is F1’s smallest driver at 1.59m, or 5ft 2in. But Marko says he’s in excellent shape, and engineers often view tall drivers as an aerodynamic inconvenience.
In that regard, the Tsunoda/Isack Hadjar combination was arguably ideal for Racing Bulls. Hadjar is second from bottom in the height leaderboard.
| RANK | DRIVER | TEAM | HEIGHT |
| 1 | Yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls | 5ft 2in |
| =2 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | 5ft 6in |
| =2 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 5ft 6in |
| 4 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 5ft 7in |
| 5 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 5ft 8in |
Red Bull have never been ‘entirely convinced’ by Tsunoda, hence their continued reluctance to sign him. Questions have been raised over his attitude and consistency – if not his speed – but he seems to be on an upward trajectory year-on-year.
According to Marko, Tsunoda has already impressed on the simulator ahead of his Japanese Grand Prix debut. There’s confidence that this will translate, but there’s hardly any pressure within the confines of the Milton Keynes factory.
