Yuki Tsunoda reflects on the challenges of adapting to the RB21, needing more time to master the car ahead of the Miami GP.
Yuki Tsunoda recently spent a day behind the wheel of the 2023 Red Bull RB19, aiming to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges posed by the current RB21. While the experience didn’t bring any immediate breakthroughs, Tsunoda believes the time spent on track was still valuable, even if it was far from easy.
“I had the typical British weather,” Tsunoda said. “It started off wet, and we didn’t bring any rain tires because we didn’t want to lose valuable track time. So, we waited a while before we could run in dry conditions.”
“Unfortunately, we also encountered a small issue towards the end of the day, which limited our running. But overall, it was a positive experience. Honestly, it was tough to notice much of a difference since the conditions and corner characteristics are so different from the previous races.”
Tsunoda emphasized that he didn’t want to make unnecessary or confusing comments about the car: “I didn’t want to say anything misleading. I shared the differences I felt, but apart from that, it was a good test to accumulate some miles.”
Looking ahead to the Miami Grand Prix, Tsunoda hopes the experience will help him feel more comfortable on track: “Hopefully, the things that naturally come to mind and my muscle memory will help. Once I’m on the track, the feel of Miami will likely be different.”
However, the limited track time meant the test wasn’t particularly helpful in terms of setup: “We wanted to make a lot of setup changes, but we didn’t have enough time to complete them. I hope to gain more experience with the car—handling oversteer and understeer—and that this will give me more confidence for the upcoming race.”
Tsunoda is still in the process of fully adapting to the RB21, and while he’s made progress, he’s struggling with qualifying: “I just need more time to fully get used to it. I’m happy with the progress I’ve made so far, and I feel confident, but when I push the car to its limits in qualifying, I sometimes experience a new kind of behavior that’s hard to manage.”
He also noted that the RB21 can be unpredictable: “The setups I tried, for example, twice at Suzuka, didn’t work as expected. In the car, I feel fine in terms of balance, but when I look at the lap times, they don’t really reflect what I felt.”
“These are things that come with experience, and sometimes you just have to accept the car’s challenges. If you’re experiencing a lot of oversteer or understeer but still posting good lap times, you just need to stick with it.”
Tsunoda knows he still has some way to go in mastering the car’s limits: “I’m still figuring it out. Even the limit is something I haven’t fully grasped yet. For example, during my last lap in Q3 in Saudi Arabia, I pushed harder and ended up losing control in a way I didn’t expect. It’s a process, but I’m just trying to keep my head down and gradually build my confidence.”
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Tsunoda Needs Time to Find the Limit of the RB21 Despite Testing
Tsunoda Needs Time to Find the Limit of the RB21 Despite Testing
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