Tsunoda ready to pay it forward and help rookie Hadjar settle into F1

It is no secret that Yuki Tsunoda did not want to be driving for Racing Bulls this season, but he is planning on remaining a team player and help his rookie team-mate if the going gets tough.

Isack Hadjar is one of six rookies on the grid, preparing for his Formula 1 debut at the Australian Grand Prix this weekend. At the other end of the scale, Tsunoda will enter his fifth year with the Red Bull junior outfit, which has undergone plenty of name changes since he first took the wheel in 2021.

Having been keen to land a Red Bull seat alongside Max Verstappen this year, Tsuonda instead remains at Racing Bulls and the Japanese now faces an uncertain future.

With a newcomer alongside him, the tables have turned since his debut year when he raced alongside Pierre Gasly for the then-Alpha Tauri squad, the Frenchman having been racing in F1 since the Malaysian Grand Prix of 2017.

Asked if he would be ready to assume the role of the elder statesmen within the team, as Gasly had done previously, Tsuonda told Motorsport.com: “Yes, I would say so definitely. I mean, if he’s in a situation, I hope not, but he’s struggling or whatever, I’ll help as much as possible if I can.

“In the end, I think we are those top 20 drivers in the world, in the end, he knows also how to recover from any hard situation.

“What I’ve done also in the first year was, I mean, I didn’t really necessarily ask Pierre what I should do or whatever, I just looked up to him and how he’s behaving in the team and how he was preparing for the race and those things.

“Naturally, you get it from the driver so, let’s see, Isack anyway, he is fast and I’m sure it is a different situation to mine so let’s see.”

Having raced with both Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson at RB – as it was in 2024 –it was the latter who was selected for promotion to Red Bull at the expense of Tsunoda but, having known the New Zealander for years as part of the team’s junior program, it was not going to impact on their friendship.

“I wouldn’t say happy for him, that’s kind of a lie, but he’s done definitely what he should do and he did his best,” added Tsunoda.

“He gave 100% performances, and I also gave 100% performances and in the end it was up to Red Bull how they were going to do it.

“It’s not necessarily a massive feeling, it is what it is, and in terms of friendship, I mean, we’re still friends, for sure, and we still chat each other, and I like to talk with him. I think our friendship never really changed.”

Photos from Australian GP – Thursday