Yuki Tsunoda has finally got his chance at Red Bull. Christian Horner and Helmut Marko left him at the de facto junior for four full seasons before giving him a promotion.
Tsunoda made his debut in 2021, racing alongside the experienced Pierre Gasly for his first two years. He was outscored 133-44 in that period, which showed he wasn’t quite ready.
But following Gasly’s move to Alpine, Tsunoda has grown in stature. He arguably drove Nyck de Vries and Daniel Ricciardo out of F1 by outperforming them convincingly.
Liam Lawson was perhaps a closer match for the Japanese driver, but even then Tsunoda was ahead. And yet, it was Lawson who was called up last December following Sergio Perez’s exit.
However, the 23-year-old went on to produce two of the poorest performances in Red Bull’s recent history in his first two races, and the team felt their hand was forced. Lawson was demoted back to Racing Bulls, and Tsunoda was the only realistic alternative.
Yuki Tsunoda ‘changed the way he talks’ to Christian Horner and Red Bull management
According to journalist Lawrence Barretto, who was speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Lawson pressured Red Bull to give him a chance. When they agreed, he failed to deliver.
Tsunoda stated his case in a subtler manner, and while he was overlooked at first, he’s slowly changed the minds of the Red Bull hierarchy. He realised he was taking the wrong tone in his conversations.
Adrian Newey was opposed to signing Tsunoda because he felt he was overly impetuous. But the consensus ahead of his debut at the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend is that he’s grown in maturity.
“It’s great that Liam kept putting the pressure on them to put him in the car,” Barretto said. “That doesn’t mean necessarily that he was ready to make that step up.
“He’d only done 11 races across two races. Yuki had done full seasons with his own team. They had so much data on him.
“Yuki did everything he needed to do. I don’t agree with his strategy of not shouting the house down.
“He had the experience to go and do that behind the scenes and really make his case. He’s learnt his lessons, he’s changed his management, he’s actually changed the way he talks to senior management. He’s trying to be better.”
Christian Horner has made a vital promise to Yuki Tsunoda before Red Bull F1 debut
Lawson’s Red Bull move impacted his friendship with Tsunoda, which was perhaps inevitable. One of the prevailing narratives among fans and the media was that the latter had been done hard by.
Tsunoda hopes that he can repair the relationship. Max Verstappen believes Racing Bulls have a faster car than Red Bull, so there’s no guarantee his results will immediately improve.
In fact, it’s not hard to envisage a rather embarrassing scenario where Lawson beats Tsunoda in qualifying for the Japanese GP. Still, the team have committed to their newest driver until the end of the season, which will give him almost as many races (22) as Alex Albon (26) and more than Pierre Gasly (12).
Horner has promised Tsunoda that he won’t have to give up a win to Verstappen should they find themselves one and two. For now, that looks a distant dream, and the first priority has to be getting the second car off the mark in the championship.
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