Tsunoda insists he’s content with his Red Bull move, aiming to grow and match Verstappen despite recent struggles in Spain.
Yuki Tsunoda is experiencing a challenging season with Red Bull, where he’s struggling alongside Max Verstappen. Despite this challenge, for which he hasn’t yet found the key—especially after a difficult Spanish Grand Prix—the Japanese driver has no regrets about leaving Racing Bulls.
“Not at all. I’m happy with Red Bull, obviously, and I’m glad to see that Racing Bulls have made good progress since last year. I showed in the first two races that those guys are competitive. Now, moving to Red Bull is a new challenge, but as I said, I was fairly satisfied with the pace,” Tsunoda assures.
“This Grand Prix was really strange, but I still believe I can do something better, something no one expects. So I’m very happy to see they’re performing, but at the same time, I’m really focused on Red Bull, on how I can work even better.”
Thirteenth in Barcelona after a weekend during which he never found the right feeling with the RB21, Tsunoda doesn’t want to use these difficulties as a benchmark: “To be honest, this Grand Prix is a bit special for me.”
“It’s a Grand Prix that feels strange to me and doesn’t suit me at all. So I’m not really thinking about this Grand Prix. Aside from that, there are ups and downs, but at least I’m happy with the pace I’ve shown over the last few sessions.”
“And I mean, there haven’t been many drivers in the past who, in certain sessions, have been quicker than Max. So, obviously, to be at his level, I need, of course, a lot of improvement—but at least a few sessions where I can match him. So, it’s mixed.”
However, he admits that over a single lap, he’s still far from competing with his teammate: “For sure, in qualifying, in those final tenths, he’s able to extract more—especially with how the track evolves, the lap, and so on.”
“During qualifying, the track conditions changed. That’s why I’m always trying to find the limit. Even if in the previous car I knew what was happening in the background, how the car would behave, I could push further.”
“But, you know, I don’t fully trust the car yet. Obviously, that’s kind of normal. Those few milliseconds, those few tenths really matter. And in those areas, for sure, he’s extracting more than I am—for now.”