Yuki Tsunoda made F1 fans ‘erupt with laughter’ after giving one answer about his Red Bull promotion

Yuki Tsunoda probably could have guessed at the start of the season that he would be at the centre of everyone’s attention heading into the Japanese Grand Prix.

As the only Japanese driver on the grid, Tsunoda has always been one of the main attractions whenever he’s headed to Suzuka ever since his first F1 race at the track in 2022.

However, this year, the buzz surrounding the 24-year-old has increased compared to his previous visits to the circuit after his promotion to Red Bull was confirmed last week.

Liam Lawson’s struggles with the RB21 led team principal Christian Horner and chief advisor Helmut Marko to make an immediate driver swap.

Tsunoda has been working in Red Bull’s simulator, but given he’s heading into his home race, he’s also got plenty of media duties to undertake.

The 24-year-old’s time in Formula 1 is intrinsically linked with Honda, given that the Japanese power unit supplier have supported him throughout his racing career.

Honda gave Red Bull a financial incentive to promote Tsunoda, and he was speaking to fans at one of their events in the lead-up to his home race.

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Yuki Tsunoda had F1 fans in hysterics with Red Bull answer ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix

Tsunoda was speaking to fans at Honda’s Aoyama headquarters in Tokyo and answered questions about his career and recent Red Bull promotion.

Japanese source as-web provided more details about how Tsunoda was received by fans, who enjoyed plenty of his answers.

He was asked about his seat fitting with the team and replied: “Once you sit in an F1 cockpit, the view is the same. Sorry, that’s boring.

“Actually, I did have a seat that was adjusted for me. This year, I was the reserve driver [for Red Bull], so I had a seat fitting before the official Bahrain test.

“At the time, I thought, ‘Why am I making this?’ I thought, ‘I’m not going to race anyway,’ so I made the seat as I pleased. But after sitting on it once, I thought, ‘Ah, this is good enough.’

2️⃣2️⃣ in the car for one final session of testing 🔥#F1 #VCARB #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/rMfmQrbUTp

— Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team (@visacashapprb) February 28, 2025

“So when the transfer was decided, I was a little worried, thinking, ‘Am I going to use that seat?!’ but this time I worked seriously and I think I was able to make a good seat. I’m confident in the seat,” Tsunoda said, laughing.

One of the comments Tsunoda made after his post-season test with Red Bull in Abu Dhabi is that the car suits his driving style.

When asked about that comment, he admitted: “Well, that’s a bit of a sales pitch. I was able to run normally there too, so I think it’s the right fit.”

His ‘sales pitch’ answer saw the room ‘erupt with laughter’ and highlighted just how much support and how popular he is among his fans in Japan.

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Yuki Tsunoda’s mentor explains why he should be confident about his Red Bull move

Tsunoda was joined by his mentor, Ryo Michigami, on stage when answering questions about his Red Bull move.

Michigami has full faith in the 24-year-old and said: “They say that the Red Bull car suits Max, but that doesn’t mean that Max can run that fast.

“If Yuki can keep up with that or even surpass it, I think we’ll naturally see a podium and a win, and I hope we can have high hopes for that.”

Tsunoda has a really difficult task ahead of him, even if he’s always run relatively well at Suzuka.

The pressure will be on, but he’s going to receive an unprecedented amount of support across the race weekend.

Tsunoda hopes to emulate Kamui Kobayashi and become the third Japanese driver in F1 history to finish on the podium.

If he can achieve that dream, then he’ll already have gone a long way to convincing Red Bull that he’s not just a temporary solution for this season.