Yuki Tsunoda thinks mastering the troublesome 2025 Red Bull could be a matter of setup rather than its fundamental characteristics.
With Liam Lawson now shuffled back to Racing Bulls, it’s up to Tsunoda to try to get closer to Max Verstappen in a car that completely suits the quadruple world champion’s style.
Lawson’s predecessor Sergio Perez also struggled to drive a Verstappen-style Red Bull, but his father Antonio Perez Garibay thinks he knows why.
“The car with the number 1 was not the same as the car with the number 11,” he claimed in conversation with Formula De 2.
But Tsunoda says he, like Verstappen, also likes aggressive, oversteering cars.
“When I drove the RB21 in the simulator, I did feel some of the difficulties that drivers often talk about,” he said.
“But rather than feeling that the car was extremely difficult on the simulator, I felt that the setup was completely different. Considering the problems Liam faced, I expected it to be more difficult to drive.”
Team advisor Dr Helmut Marko has also hinted that Red Bull will experiment with ‘softer’ car setups for the sister car to make it easier to drive.
“I tried a lot of different setups in the simulator for two days and I think I’ve been able to come up with one that I think will suit me to a certain extent,” confirmed Tsunoda.
“Now I just have to try it out here at Suzuka.”
Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher says he would have rejected the poisoned chalice of the seat next to Verstappen, but Marko suggested that – contractually – the Japanese driver could not have turned it down.
“It wasn’t something I’d even thought about,” Tsunoda said, “but offers from top teams aren’t that common so I replied right away and said ‘I’ll do it’.”
And if Tsunoda falters, both Marko and even former Racing Bulls boss Franz Tost in recent days have been hailing the early performance this season of rookie Isack Hadjar.
Marko called the 20-year-old “the surprise of the season so far”.
“If I get the call,” French-Algerian Hadjar said at Suzuka on Thursday, “of course, I would say I’m ready. “And maybe even if I’m not (ready), I’d still say I am,” he laughed.
