Yuki Tsunoda says Red Bull underappreciated the difference in car spec with Max Verstappen while expecting results from him earlier in the 2025 Formula 1 season.
After five years at Racing Bulls, Tsunoda was finally given the call-up to the Milton Keynes-based squad in the wake of Liam Lawson’s dismissal two races into 2025.
Expectations were not especially high from the Japanese driver, given the inherent deficiencies of the RB21.
Despite this, the 25-year-old’s stint with Red Bull has been disappointing to say the least, with Tsunoda scoring just seven points in 11 races.
That said, until the Belgian Grand Prix, Tsunoda was not racing identical machinery as compared to his team-mate Verstappen.
Laurent Mekies’ debut race as Team Principal and CEO saw Tsunoda’s RB21 fitted with the revised floor that Verstappen had been running with.
Since then, Tsunoda has been lapping within three-tenths of the Dutchman, at least in qualifying.
“The last two races before summer break, that helped a little bit,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“Probably they didn’t recognise that much, especially Helmut, that the difference between us, between me and Max in terms of the package differences.
“And as soon as I introduced that my pace suddenly improved much, much improved. And, I mean, Hungary, the difference between me and Max was very small since practice.”
Looking forward to the final 10 races of the season, starting at Zandvoort, Tsunoda is optimistic about finally assimilating himself with the RB21.
“That shows that actually, if I want, maybe there’s some potential,” he asserted.
“So, I think I just keep what I’m doing, but also at the same time, still have to put it all together throughout the week. You can’t just rely on the pace, I need to score points.
“That’s why I was preparing for it in this summer break and just need to score points as much as possible.
“Yeah, and in terms of time, we kind of agreed what kind of time we are looking for.
“To be able to show a good performance, to be able to decide what kind of contract they want for next year.”
Tsunoda unsure about Red Bull parity
Red Bull’s struggles this season have meant that the team has been scrambling to add performance to the RB21.
But with the cost-cap firmly in place, it cannot afford the luxury of fabricating multiple upgrades for both of its cars.
And while Tsunoda now has a major upgrade package on his car in terms of the floor, going into the final 10 rounds of the 2025 season, he was unsure if parity would be maintained in terms of out-and-out identical packages between himself and Verstappen.
“I think for at least this race, it’s actually similar [the car]. It’s quite close,” he revealed.
“I don’t know specifically yet, specific details. But it’s not like compared to before the start, for example. The biggest difference was before Spa until then.”
The 25-year-old went on to urge the team to also sort out the overall optimisation of its weekends.
“Also we have to still anyway keep pushing for the performance,” added Tsunoda.
“Because I think what we saw in Hungary, we struggled as a team. Both cars nearly dropped in Q1, which is not the case that we normally see.
“So, yeah, we need to make the car better anyway. So, let’s see for the coming races. But for at least this race, it’s much similar, I think.”
READ MORE – Sergio Perez vindicated amid replacements’ struggles in ‘undriveable’ Red Bull
Discussion about this post