Yuki Tsunoda is gearing up for his long-awaited Red Bull Formula 1 debut, and most excitingly it’s going to arrive at his home race.
The Japanese Grand Prix will be an incredibly significant event for Red Bull, as they bid to confirm whether it’s the drivers behind the wheel or the car that is the main issue for their team.
Liam Lawson’s struggles may have already answered that question, but now Tsunoda gets a crack to help them prove the mystery for good.
With 22 races left this season and a car which is sometimes fourth-fastest in the hands of Max Verstappen, a top 10 in the drivers’ championship would be a success for the second driver.
Tsunoda has already proven Helmut Marko wrong at Red Bull by providing some impressive simulator feedback.
Lawson has left Tsunoda a ‘quite easy’ job at Red Bull because no one expects him to do that well against Verstappen. Struggles are expected, but it may be a big advantage for the Japanese driver.
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Marko claims Tsunoda ‘secretly expected’ a Lawson swap even before the season started after the team snubbed him over the winter in favour of the Kiwi.
It was a decision made despite him having nearly four complete Formula 1 seasons of experience in hand over the 23-year-old.
Ahead of his home race at Suzuka, where he now has the chance to perform in a top car with little expectation, Tsunoda shared his aims for the weekend.
“My priority is to first understand the car, [and] how it behaves compared to the VCARB,” he told Autosport.
“If I can naturally enjoy driving it as I get familiar with it in FP1, then the results will follow. And if that leads to a podium finish, that would be incredible.”
Only one driver has managed better than fourth in their first race for the Milton Keynes-based outfit, so a podium considering the circumstances would be an incredible result. Stranger things have happened (Verstappen’s debut win in 2016).
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The 2025 F1 result which suggests Yuki Tsunoda can do well at Red Bull
There’s one session which stands out like a sore thumb when assessing how well Tsunoda might be able to do at the senior team for the rest of the season.
At the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, the 23-year-old qualified impressively with a lap which put him fifth on the grid.
Even more impressively, he was less than two-tenths behind Verstappen in what is expected to be a far slower car on the evidence of the last 20 years.
Red Bull have never been convinced by Tsunoda but they should offer him a fair crack at their seat now. If he can pull off some good results he will inflate his reputation.
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