Yuki Tsunoda ‘can’t wait’ to see two things in Max Verstappen’s data ahead of Red Bull debut at the Japanese Grand Prix

Yuki Tsunoda wants to take advantage of becoming Max Verstappen’s new Red Bull teammate at the Japanese Grand Prix by learning from ‘the best driver on the grid’.

The 2025 season rolls into Suzuka this weekend for round three with Red Bull trying to catch up to McLaren in the F1 constructors’ championship. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri winning the Australian and Chinese Grands Prix for McLaren already leave Red Bull 42 points behind.

Verstappen has fought Red Bull’s year single-handily so far after Liam Lawson failed to take any points in Melbourne and Shanghai. So, the Kiwi is out after just two rounds and Tsunoda steps up at the Japanese GP after Red Bull grew frustrated with Lawson’s lack of progress.

Yuki Tsunoda wants to know how Max Verstappen ‘extracts the performance’ from Red Bull’s 2025 F1 car

Lawson struggled to get to grips with the difficult RB21 designed largely for Verstappen with a sharp front end and loose rear. Tsunoda did not find the RB21 ‘particularly difficult’ in Red Bull’s simulator after enjoying two days at their Milton Keynes base to prepare for his debut.

The RB21 is also evidently only the fourth-fastest car on the 2025 F1 grid behind McLaren’s, Mercedes’ and Ferrari’s challengers. But Verstappen has often extracted its potential to take P2 in Melbourne’s mixed conditions plus P2 in the Shanghai Sprint and P4 in that Grand Prix.

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So, Tsunoda is eager to now use his chance as Verstappen’s teammate to learn how he finds the performance from Red Bull’s car. No one else has won Red Bull a Grand Prix since Sergio Perez at the 2023 Azerbaijan GP or get a podium since Perez at the 2024 Chinese GP (P3).

“We have a good relationship already from the first year [together in the] Red Bull [family],” Tsunoda has told the Formula 1 website. “He’s a really, really nice guy. I can’t wait [to be his teammate]. He’s one of the best drivers – the best driver probably on the current grid.

“I’ll just learn as much as possible from him [about] how he’s driving [and] how he’s able to extract the performance from the car.”

Yuki Tsunoda will need Max Verstappen’s help to adapt to the difficult Red Bull RB21

Even Verstappen has lamented the RB21’s inconsistent balance after struggling to feel at one with Red Bull’s car in Shanghai last time out. Now, Tsunoda will find a steep learning curve as he adapts to the RB21 on a circuit for the first time in first free practice for the Japanese GP.

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It will be an attack on the senses given the big differences between driving on a simulator at a factory and on a real race circuit. Additionally, Racing Bulls have an easier car to drive than Red Bull with the rear end of the VCARB 02 Tsunoda had in Australia and China not as loose.

Lawson will hope driving a nicer car lets him bounce back from a difficult start to the season and losing his dream seat at Red Bull. All the while, Tsunoda will likely need to use whatever the 24-year-old learns from Verstappen and his data to adjust to the RB21 at his home race.

Failing to adapt to his RB21 after stepping up from Racing Bulls with a full pre-season test in Bahrain saw Lawson labour at the rear of the grid. The 23-year-old crashed out on his debut for Red Bull in Australia before taking P14 in the Shanghai Sprint and P12 in the feature race.

The Kiwi was even 1.076 seconds slower than Verstappen in qualifying for the Australian GP, where only Haas driver Esteban Ocon was slower than Lawson in P18 in Q1. Lawson was the slowest driver in both qualifying sessions in China, too, 0.813s and 0.75s behind Verstappen.