Yuki Tsunoda has already achieved his childhood dream at Red Bull ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix

Yuki Tsunoda will make his long-awaited debut for Red Bull at his home Grand Prix at Suzuka this weekend.

The Japanese driver’s future at Red Bull was uncertain going into the 2025 season. He had been snubbed by Liam Lawson over the winter for the second seat next to Max Verstappen, leaving him at Racing Bulls for a fifth season.

However, the pair have swapped places for the Japanese Grand Prix after Lawson’s dismal start to the year. He failed to reach Q2 in Melbourne and Shanghai – qualifying last twice in the latter – and did not score a point.

Meanwhile, Tsunoda got his VCARB 02 into the top 10 in every qualifying session, with poor strategy calls from Racing Bulls leaving him on just three points. Now, he will be thrust into Red Bull for his home race and he is being extensively prepared.

Tsunoda impressed Helmut Marko on the simulator, with the 24-year-old even saying the RB21 was not difficult to drive. This is a sharp contrast to Lawson who looked ‘frazzled’ behind the scenes as he could not get to grips with the car.

Red Bull will hope Tsunoda will find some performance over the rest of the season. The home hero is looking to make an impression at Suzuka, but he has technically already made his debut.

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Yuki Tsunoda achieves childhood dream of driving a Red Bull F1 car on the streets of Tokyo

Tsunoda made his first Red Bull appearance in Tokyo during a show event. The Japanese driver, alongside his teammate Max Verstappen and Racing Bulls’ Lawson and Isack Hadjar, showcased several historic F1 cars, including the RB7 from Sebastian Vettel’s title-winning 2011 season.

In front of his adoring home crowd, Tsunoda was seen having a great time doing donuts and flick-spinning the car through tight corners. Speaking with RacingNews365 at the event, the 24-year-old said he had been dreaming of this moment since he was a child.

“Very special,” he said. “For me, driving a Formula 1 car in Tokyo. That’s actually, I don’t know it blows my mind and I think that was also the moment I was kind of dreaming for.

“And actually I was imagining only, when I was [a] kid driving a Formula 1 car in Tokyo but [it] actually happens in the real world.

“So yeah, thanks to Red Bull and Honda to make it happen. Very special. Without Honda, I wouldn’t be here, even probably not in Formula 1 as well.”

Yuki Tsunoda wants to forge his own path at Red Bull

It has been tough for the 24-year-old to miss out on the second Red Bull seat over the last few years. Tsunoda was probably bound for Cadillac had he not been promoted to the senior team.

Now he has finally been afforded his chance, he is not looking to waste it. Tsunoda wants to have his own setup with the RB21 – a major change given how tailored it is to Verstappen’s sensitive driving style.

Furthermore, the Japanese driver is looking to be competitive from the off. Tusnoda has ignored Christian Horner’s advice to Lawson by targeting a podium at his home race.

The Red Bull boss had told Lawson to be patient and that it will take time to develop, but his replacement wants to make an immediate impact. Horner has ‘promised’ he will not stop Tsunoda beating Verstappen, which is sure to create some great battles if he can get close to the four-time champion.