Yuki Tsunoda is among the drivers who have the most to prove during the 2025 Formula 1 season.
After four seasons with the Racing Bulls team, Yuki Tsunoda is eyeing up a fifth campaign that will take him beyond 100 Grand Prix starts with what’s essentially a junior outfit on the grid.
While Tsunoda has developed immensely as a driver during his time in Formula 1, his best opportunity to race for Red Bull has now passed him by.
When Sergio Perez’s Red Bull exit was confirmed, Tsunoda was in a head-to-head battle with his newest teammate Liam Lawson.
Despite outqualifying and outpacing the Kiwi during their six races together, team principal Christian Horner opted for the youngster over Tsunoda.
It’s a bitter blow for the 24-year-old and raises plenty of questions about where his long-term future in F1 lies.
Racing Bulls’ purpose is to develop drivers for the senior team and if the Japanese star isn’t at the required level yet – and Horner’s doubts about Tsunoda remain – then it’s hard to see him ever progressing to the top step of the system that has supported him throughout his career.
Yuki Tsunoda studied Max Verstappen’s 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix win
Journalist Jon Noble was speaking on The Race F1 Podcast about how people in the media and within F1 teams study previous races.
If there’s one driver who should be studied by many of the sport’s young stars then it’s Max Verstappen.
The four-time world champion has been on a different level from many of his competitors over the past few years.
Verstappen’s performance at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix was legendary, racing from P17 to comfortably win the race in torrential rain.
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Noble was speaking about going back and watching previous races and explained how it related to Tsunoda’s development: “The teams go back [after races] and are reviewing races from onboards and cameras.
“I spoke to Alan Permane at the end of the season about Yuki Tsunoda and the way he’s adapted to understanding his tone on the radio and all that sort of thing.
“He said one of the things they did with Yuki was they sat down and they watched Max Verstappen’s onboard from Brazil.
“A very, very tricky race, how did Max interact with GP [Gianpiero Lambiase] basically throughout that race and the calmness amid the world of chaos that was going out on track this year?
“So, these are the sorts of things teams are doing afterwards because at the time they can’t pick these things out.”
Max Verstappen’s radio messages haven’t always been praised
Verstappen’s display of car control and calmness at Interlagos last year could easily go down as his greatest-ever drive in Formula 1.
It essentially guaranteed him the title and while cars were spinning out around him, he set fastest lap after fastest lap to accelerate away from the two Alpine cars behind him.
However, Verstappen’s radio messages haven’t always been praised by those watching on.
Martin Brundle wasn’t impressed with Verstappen’s messages in Abu Dhabi when he criticised the stewards for penalising him after colliding with Oscar Piastri.
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Verstappen later apologised to Piastri for the move, suggesting his sarcastic calls for a longer penalty were in the heat of the moment, an issue Tsunoda has previously struggled with.
Brundle also didn’t like Red Bull’s message to Verstappen in Austria where they insisted to the four-time world champion he had done nothing wrong after his clash with Lando Norris.
Tsunoda was furious with Daniel Ricciardo after last season’s opener in Bahrain when a poor strategy choice from his team saw him overtaken by the Australian despite being the quicker driver that day.
It’s a skill the 24-year-old has been working on and Verstappen’s display of calm driving in Brazil could be a lesson to any of his rivals in the paddock.
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