Yuki Tsunoda got his first taste of the Red Bull RB21 in Friday practice at Suzuka, where he put in a commendable first showing.

Having got the nod to step into Liam Lawson’s vacated RB21 after the first two races of the F1 2025 season, Yuki Tsunoda fared well on his first day behind the wheel of a car that’s established as being a tricky one to drive.

Yuki Tsunoda aiming to ‘build confidence’ after ‘a good start’

In the first practice session at Suzuka, spurred on by the cheers of his home crowd, Tsunoda finished in sixth place, hinting at an immediate gelling with the RB21 after driving last year’s RB20 at the Abu Dhabi post-season test in December.

Finishing just a tenth behind Max Verstappen’s best laptime of the session, this was closer than Liam Lawson had managed to get during his first outings for the Milton Keynes-based squad and suggested that the Japanese driver was finding the RB21 more compliant to his driving demands.

Verstappen set a best time of 1:29.065 from 23 laps, with Tsunoda putting in a 1:29.172 with 25 laps.

“Yeah, FP1 was better than expected. A good start for myself,” Tsunoda said after the day’s action, his first day on-track as a Red Bull F1 driver.

In the second practice, the impact of four red flag interruptions meant Tsunoda was never able to get in a representative time – a feat Verstappen only just managed to achieve during a brief period where the circuit was clear.

“In FP2, I didn’t set a lap time,” Tsunoda said.

“I think there is a lot of work to do, maybe slightly struggled or something that we have to look through the data in FP2 more, but so far overall it’s OK. I just have to build up my confidence more.”

Having only had the chance to prepare for his Red Bull switch via simulator work at the team’s technology campus in Milton Keynes, Tsunoda said it was clear the real-world handling of the RB21 was different from what he’d encountered in the simulator.

“It’s a bit different to the simulator from what I felt, to be honest,” he said.

“A little bit more than I expected in terms of the car feeling. I knew anyway it was always going to be a bit different in the real car, and it was a little bit more exaggerated in the real car. It’s feeling a bit more tricky.

“I think we can say today was ok, but it could have been better. FP1 was better than FP2, I gained a lot more learnings. We didn’t set a lap time in FP2 due to the number of stops in the session, you could maybe call the session a shambles for everyone. Overall, it is ok, and I am happy to have confidence in the car.

“We still have some work to do, and we have a lot to explore in the data before tomorrow.”

With Red Bull seemingly competing with two on-form drivers this weekend, team advisor Helmut Marko was unable to hide a smile when he was asked about Tsunoda’s pace by Sky Sports News.

“A very good day for Yuki and for all our youngsters,” he said, having seen the two Racing Bulls also finish in the top five.

“[Isack] Hadjar did very well, and [Liam] Lawson recovered.”

Having said during the week that Tsunoda will be given the Red Bull seat for the remainder of the F1 2025 championship, Marko was asked whether Tsunoda has shown the mettle to settle in and make the Red Bull seat his own.

“He proved it today, yes,” was his summation of the situation.

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