Verstappen won’t ‘say the truth’ as Tsunoda finds….read more
Yuki Tsunoda, now stepping up to Red Bull’s main team, is set to make his debut at the Japanese Grand Prix after a tough decision from the team to replace Liam Lawson. Tsunoda joins the team after Racing Bulls, Red Bull’s second team, had a rough start to the 2025 season. Lawson, who failed to score any points and struggled with qualifying, was demoted after just two rounds, and Tsunoda was given the chance to showcase his talents in front of his home crowd.
Despite the change, Tsunoda doesn’t expect to rely on Max Verstappen, his new teammate, for advice on how to master Red Bull’s notoriously tricky RB21 car. Verstappen, a multi-time World Champion who has mastered the car, is known for his ability to extract the most from it, but Tsunoda doesn’t believe Verstappen would offer any real help. When asked if he had received advice from Verstappen on how to handle the car, Tsunoda bluntly said, “Not really, to be honest,” and added, “Even if I tap his shoulder and ask about the car, I don’t think he’s going to say the truth.”
Tsunoda’s stance suggests he feels that Verstappen may not be forthcoming with useful information on how to tackle the car’s nuances. Instead, Tsunoda plans to rely on his own observations and data analysis. He’s already studied Verstappen’s driving style through onboard footage and previous Grand Prix data. He acknowledges that Verstappen’s experience and driving style may play a significant role in how he handles the car, but Tsunoda is determined to figure it out on his own.
So far, Tsunoda has not felt the “trickiness” that some drivers have mentioned about the RB21. While Verstappen and other drivers have spoken about the car’s challenging behavior, Tsunoda has yet to experience it firsthand. This could mean that the car’s characteristics are not as immediately apparent to him, or that they may become more noticeable as he spends more time driving it.
Rather than focusing on Verstappen’s experience, Tsunoda believes he can rely on his own experience and his engineering team to understand the car better. His approach is to gather as much data as possible, including feedback from the engineers he’s worked with, to help him get a handle on the car’s behavior. He’s confident that, with his years of experience, he’ll be able to get up to speed quickly, even without relying heavily on Verstappen’s insights. His engineering team has already provided useful feedback, which Tsunoda says has already helped him form a clearer picture of what adjustments might be necessary.
As Tsunoda prepares for his first race with the team, he feels no need to change his driving style significantly. Although he recognizes that the RB21 might behave differently from the VCARB 02 car he drove for Racing Bulls, Tsunoda is not planning to drastically alter his approach. He feels that his driving style, honed over four seasons with the Red Bull junior team, has been effective so far and doesn’t expect that to change dramatically now. Instead, he intends to build his pace step by step, using his established techniques to get the best out of the car.
Looking ahead to his first session in the RB21, Tsunoda is cautious but optimistic. He believes that, while the simulator can give some insights, nothing beats real-world experience, and he’ll be looking to assess the car’s performance during FP1. He’s prepared to make adjustments based on what he feels but doesn’t anticipate needing to completely change his driving style to adapt to the car’s characteristics. His focus remains on understanding the car’s behavior and finding the optimal setup with the help of his engine
ering team.
