Tsunoda’s Red Bull debut showed promise, but with Bahrain on the horizon, he’s determined to push harder and improve his performance.
Yuki Tsunoda finished 12th in his debut race with Red Bull, after a promising weekend that ended in disappointment during qualifying and the race itself. Replacing Liam Lawson, who was dropped after two underwhelming races, Tsunoda reflects on a solid start but acknowledges that the weekend could have been better.
“In terms of progress, I’ve probably achieved more than I expected this week. My confidence is completely different compared to when I first started in Free Practice 1. I’m sure if I had one more qualifying session, it would’ve been a bit different. But it’s too late now. I can’t change that. I just need to do better at the next race,” Tsunoda admits.
Tsunoda attempted to set up his car as aggressively as Max Verstappen, but was also concerned about the possibility of rain. “I knew it would be difficult to overtake. In terms of settings, I was thinking about the rain, which didn’t come. That’s a bit of a shame,” he says.
“I was expecting massive tire degradation, which could have been a good situation for me, but the degradation was actually minimal. Honestly, after Free Practice 3, I considered going lower, even as low as Max, but by FP3, I didn’t have much time due to the tires, red flags, and so on.”
“Additionally, we changed a lot of settings. I never had a consistent car or consistent laps. I just wanted to keep the same car for qualifying and the race, because there was a risk of rain. I wanted to have a reliable car. If I’d had the same Grand Prix again, I would’ve taken a different approach.”
Tsunoda expressed his frustration with missing out on points but remains optimistic: “I’m very frustrated and disappointed not to have scored points, but that’s how it goes. When I come back to my home Grand Prix, I’ll be in better shape, and I hope to aim for more than just a top-five finish.”
While Tsunoda was closely matched to Verstappen during Free Practice and Q1, he struggled to find pace in Q2. However, he remains positive about his debut performance: “It’s a good thing. I don’t think I started negatively this weekend, at least not in a bad way. I felt like I got off to a good start, apart from the results.”
“I’ll just take what I’ve learned, the progress, and the speed I’ve shown throughout the weekend, and continue from there. I’m definitely expecting more from Bahrain—more than this. I just need to push harder.”
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Tsunoda Reflects on Progress: More to Come in Bahrain
Tsunoda Reflects on Progress: More to Come in Bahrain