The final action of the 2024 Formula 1 season was a full day of testing at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.
All 10 teams took part with a host of new faces – or familiar faces in different cars – taking part in F1’s 2024 post-season test.
Charles Leclerc set the fastest time in testing, but his old teammate Carlos Sainz wasn’t far behind in his first long run for Williams after a brief stint on the track for a filming day on Monday.
Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon made their debuts for Sauber and Haas respectively, as well as the German’s new teammate Gabriel Bortoleto fresh from winning the Formula 2 championship.
Kimi Antonelli recovered from illness to take part in the afternoon section of the session but one of the most interesting plotlines on Tuesday was in the Red Bull garage.
Yuki Tsunoda was handed his first run in the RB20 – at the behest of Honda – and was joined by RB hopeful Isack Hadjar.
Liam Lawson ran for RB with Ayumu Iwasa looking very quick in the second car as he took part in the young driver’s portion of the test.
After witnessing Tsunoda finally getting his opportunity in the senior team, Red Bull fans are now calling for the Japanese driver to be promoted for 2025, with Sergio Perez under mounting pressure to save his seat.
Red Bull fans want Yuki Tsunoda to be Max Verstappen’s teammate next season
Tsunoda set the 17th-fastest time of the day, with the team concentrating on his long-run pace rather than trying to set the quickest qualifying times.
The team shared a post on Instagram after the testing day had been completed that read: “A productive post-season test at Yas Marina with @yukitsunoda0511 and @isackhadjar at the wheel of the RB20.
“Yuki completed 127 laps in the morning session, with Isack clocking up 125 laps in the afternoon.”
There were plenty of Red Bull fans in the comments and a selection of their replies can be seen below, calling for the team to promote Tsunoda in Perez’s place should the Mexican lose his seat.
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One fan said: “Man imagine Mad Max + Yuki The Pocket Rocket. What a pair!”, while another agreed, “You better put Yuki in that seat”
Some of Perez’s fans now think Tsunoda is the best alternative with one admitting, “If Checo goes (I hope he doesn’t) Tsunoda would be the best option for even the Mexican Fandom”
“22 just looks right on that car…”, said another reply looking at the newly installed number on his car.
Another fan replied, “Honesty if Perez does get replaced I think Yuki deserves that seat”.
One fan even pointed to the work he had done with RB over the years and gave the team a suggestion in case a promotion didn’t work out, saying: “Yuki has paid his dues… He should be on the Red Bull next season. If he does not work, you can always switch.”
Some Red Bull fans want Yuki Tsunoda but they may end up with Liam Lawson
Tsunoda has done his time in the junior RB team but he still looks set to spend a fifth year with the outfit in 2025.
Liam Lawson is Perez’s most likely replacement although he’s yet to sign a contract with either team for next year.
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Tsunoda’s testing times were slower than Perez’s qualifying laps, but context has to be taken into account before suggesting that he’s a second slower than the Mexican driver.
He wouldn’t have been pushing as hard as he would have liked, particularly as he was within hundreds of Perez in an inferior RB car during qualifying on Saturday.
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