Yuki Tsunoda’s debut qualifying session with Red Bull at his home Grand Prix in Japan yielded mixed results for the driver. He showed promising pace in Q1, but faltered in Q2, placing himself 15th on the grid for tomorrow’s race.
Despite his disappointment in his performance this Saturday, he’s starting to adapt to the challenging and demanding RB21.
Red Bull decided to make the controversial choice of replacing Liam Lawson for Tsunoda after just two race weekends. So far, however, it looks as though the Japanese driver is performing better behind the wheel of the Milton Keynes machinery than the Kiwi he replaced.
“I mean, Q1 as well felt pretty good. I just missed the window, I guess. I think the window that this car can operate [in] is very narrow and the warm up, probably most of the things have to almost be perfect, especially warm up,” Tsunoda explained after qualifying. “And especially Q2 run 2, I wasn’t able to do the warm up I wanted as a previous run, so that makes a big difference in the end.
“So, something I learned it kind of recognised in the Q2, but it was a bit too late, and it’s a shame I wasn’t able to put it all together when it matters.”
The RB21’s small operating window has been a known issue that the team has been working to address since the 2024 season. Team principal Christian Horner has admitted this shortcoming, and Max Verstappen – despite putting the car on pole today – has previously complained about this behaviour.
When asked if the red flag disrupted his momentum, Tsunoda was more focussed on his warm up strategy.
“Yeah, I mean, same for everyone, so yeah, I think it’s not that, it’s just… Yeah, just warm up I guess and I don’t know, I had quite a big gusts in turn 2, quite big moments I had, which were a bit unexpected. So I had to look through what’s happened there, but at least I saw a good pace in Q1, and I feel like I have confidence in the car.
Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing Team
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“I’m still learning in the process, I’m learning, but yeah, very ashamed. I didn’t expect this result today.”
Missing out on crucial experience in the car thanks to a plethora of red flags so far this Grand Prix weekend hasn’t been good for Tsunoda, who is trying to become accustomed to his new place of work.
“So I finished the Q2 with reading the whole textbook finally about the Red Bull, you know what I mean?
“Explanation with whatever, you know, FP2 was such a limited time I had, and FP3 I was able to give a bit of pace. Q1, I felt pretty good and confident, but Q2 just something that I didn’t expect to happen and that new thing came out, so yeah.
“I’m sure if I have one more round, it’ll be different, but it is what it is, you don’t always put it all together when it matters.”
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