Yuki Tsunoda is prepared for the hardest job in motorsports. Or, not less than, he believes he’s. At 24, with 4 seasons in System 1 plus a robust begin to 2025 underneath his belt, he’s better-prepared for this chance than the person he changed, former teammate Liam Lawson, and backs himself to thrive even though partnering Max Verstappen at Crimson Bull Racing is regarded by most as profession poison.
Tsunoda has nothing to lose. This was destined to be his final yr within the Racing Bulls fold, with Crimson Bull group principal Christian Horner saying final December that after 5 years in what he referred to as the “assist group,” there comes a degree the place “you’ve both bought to allow them to go at that time or have a look at one thing completely different.” Tsunoda has proved himself worthy of a seat on the F1 grid, however alternatives are restricted for ’26 if Crimson Bull’s B-team doesn’t retain him. The leap to Crimson Bull presents a possibility to alter the path of his profession, and maybe even set up himself in a front-running group for the long run.
It’s an enormous ask, on condition that not solely is he being pitched right into a seat regarded by most because the hardest in F1 but additionally doing so with no prior expertise of the automotive, two races right into a season, and for his house grand prix. The devotion of the house crowd and the need of circuit proprietor Honda for him to thrive means the strain will probably be intense, and the way Tsunoda offers with that would set him up for fulfillment or failure at Crimson Bull. He’ll get greater than the ludicrous two weekends afforded to Lawson, however the die will probably be forged in some way at Suzuka. Crimson Bull will quickly flip its consideration to figuring out a substitute for ’26 if Tsunoda doesn’t persuade – and persuade rapidly.
This can be a fascinating problem contemplating sources inside Crimson Bull have lengthy made it clear that query marks over Tsunoda’s mentality, greater than his driving potential, led to him repeatedly being handed over for promotion. This all began when Tsunoda first examined for what was then referred to as AlphaTauri within the post-season Abu Dhabi check in 2020 and the group was astonished by how vocal and emotional his communications have been over the radio. It’s one thing Tsunoda has, by his personal admission, needed to work on.
Nevertheless, the notion has grow to be more and more anachronistic as Tsunoda has improved what he calls his “emotional management” considerably. The final time there was a notable drawback was within the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2024, when group orders pissed off him late on and he made an announcement with an odd lunge and lockup previous Daniel Ricciardo on the slowdown lap. Since then, Tsunoda has been in a greater place, other than utilizing an ableist slur throughout Austrian Grand Prix qualifying, for which he supplied “large apologies,” in addition to paying a considerable fantastic. However unacceptable language apart, too usually legit pushbacks to group directions are interpreted as problematic after they shouldn’t be. The latest instance was within the Chinese language Grand Prix, when he was proper to demand he work the entrance finish more durable and didn’t settle for the pit wall telling him to not. Shortly afterwards, his reasoning was understood and the group backed the choice. Due to this fact, the thought of a driver who just isn’t working along with his group is an outdated one.
Tsunoda was comparatively undercooked when he first arrived in F1 with AlphaTauri in 2021 (above) however has grow to be way more well-rounded within the years since. Lars Baron/Getty Photographs
F1 has been a steep studying curve for Tsunoda. When he arrived in 2021, ending ninth on debut in Bahrain, he had a single season in every of European F3 and F2 underneath his belt and was nonetheless very a lot a piece in progress. He confessed to underestimating how powerful the step as much as F1 could be, and his first season was a chastening expertise with too many errors. However he regularly realized, to the purpose the place he was in a position to grow to be the group’s spearhead as soon as Pierre Gasly left for Alpine on the finish of 2022. He’s now a much more reliable driver, and any patchiness in his outcomes is extra all the way down to his group’s inconsistency than his personal shortcomings.
The primary two weekends of this yr have illustrated that. In Australia, he ran within the prime six till the rain returned on lap 44. The group flip-flopped on technique, leaving him out for too lengthy whereas different groups referred to as their vehicles in, turning a robust end result right into a pointless afternoon. An analogous factor occurred within the Chinese language Grand Prix, the place Racing Bulls caught with a two-stop technique as others tailored to at least one. Solely his robust run to sixth within the Shanghai Dash rewarded him with factors in a season the place he has been a standout performer. The query now’s whether or not he can translate his excellent type at Racing Bulls into Crimson Bull Racing driving a sooner, however a lot trickier, automotive.
To make his promotion work, Tsunoda should not less than partially replicate Verstappen’s ability for extracting the potential from a tough automotive. The Crimson Bull RB21 has loads of downforce and grip; the difficulty is accessing its potential persistently as a consequence of its steadiness limitations. Success or failure in doing so makes the distinction between it being a podium menace and being liable to elimination in Q1. Verstappen’s extraordinary potential is to drive the automotive in a means that minimizes the constraints and makes essentially the most of that potential.
In qualifying particularly, Verstappen’s otherworldly potential to govern the automotive on the brakes and turn-in is what unlocks its efficiency. The RB21 is vulnerable to each understeer and rear-end snaps, however Verstappen can load the entrance axle at turn-in to provide it the entrance finish grip it wants with out the rear stepping out of line. Doing so requires outstanding sensitivity, precision, adaptability and the capability to react near-instantaneously to the suggestions from the automotive. It’s the F1 equal of strolling the tightrope. In contrast, Lawson has fallen repeatedly and due to this fact driving to a a lot decrease ceiling – therefore his references to the issue of discovering “the candy spot” with this automotive.
This isn’t merely the issue of a automotive developed for Verstappen, who thrives with a robust entrance finish and might management the ensuing rear-end instability most discover too responsive. Whereas such dynamics have the potential for the very best efficiency ceiling, this requires astonishing expertise to regulate. But with the RB21, Verstappen faces an excellent more durable problem with a automotive he says “continues to be not the place I need it to be.” His driving is a fragile type of bullying that’s past most.
So can Tsunoda do what Verstappen does? It’s unlikely, given Verstappen is, at 27, already established as one of many all-time greats and few drivers within the historical past of grand prix racing have his potential. The extra pertinent query is whether or not Tsunoda can approximate the Verstappen approach sufficient to do the job Crimson Bull wants. That’s normally framed by the group as being about three-tenths off and banking common factors – though as a racing driver with unshakable confidence, Tsunoda himself will probably again himself to do way over that.
There’s a reference level, which is the post-season Abu Dhabi check final yr. Tsunoda logged 127 laps within the 2024 Crimson Bull, which was much less a possibility supplied by Crimson Bull and extra one facilitated by energy unit provider Honda, which has backed Tsunoda since his early days in single-seaters. There, Tsunoda claimed to really feel comfy within the automotive and in a position to push it to the restrict.
Verstappen’s driving type doesn’t work for a lot of different drivers, however Tsunoda might want to undertake parts of it to have a shot at reaching the RB21’s potential. Clive Mason/Getty Photographs
“I believe so — I didn’t actually battle a lot to adapt,” stated Tsunoda. “I didn’t have many soiled laps. On the lengthy runs, I’ve been in a position to run persistently and right away felt the constraints of the automotive, which for those who don’t believe within the automotive, you possibly can’t really feel any limitations.”
Though Tsunoda confirmed what he may do, the die had already been forged and Crimson Bull’s determination was made – Lawson was going to interchange Sergio Perez, topic to the payoff being finalized with the Mexican. The willingness to make the swap with Lawson so early within the season confirms that Tsunoda did a great job in Abu Dhabi.
Tsunoda is unquestionably higher certified for the problem than he would have been a few years in the past and is promoted to Crimson Bull Racing with the type of expertise two of his predecessors, Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly, had. Tsunoda is, by inclination, a late braker. After I requested him about that in November 2023, that is how he described his type:
“Stronger and quick,” stated Tsunoda. “The preliminary half is stronger. I’ve by no means seen a driver the place the preliminary half is stronger than me. The releasing half, the later half, he [teammate Ricciardo] is sweet at. I can study one thing from that as a driver.”
This was a big part of Tsunoda’s growth, one which broadened his window. Whereas his authentic F1 teammate, Gasly, can also be by inclination a late braker, one who thrives attacking the nook supplied that the rear finish is predictable sufficient to provide him confidence, Ricciardo confirmed Tsunoda one other means. That’s expanded Tsunoda’s toolkit as a driver and, critically, given him a deeper understanding of the worth of manipulating the automotive’s steadiness utilizing the brakes. To do what Verstappen does, braking late just isn’t an possibility because it simply means struggling to get the automotive turned. Then you might be restricted on traction whenever you attempt to feed the ability in due to the additional lock required to get the automotive by way of the remainder of the nook. Tsunoda not less than has a grounding in methods to try to obtain this.
The strain is on, however that is probably life-changing alternative for Tsunoda, who can remodel himself from helpful midfielder to frontrunner. By way of expertise, the timing is true even when it could have been higher to provide him a winter and pre-season to organize, however that is the chance he craves to show he can do what Gasly, Albon, Perez and Lawson didn’t do earlier than him.
If Tsunoda delivers, and that doesn’t imply matching Verstappen however merely being a helpful quantity two for Crimson Bull, then this could possibly be a career-making alternative. If not, it will likely be a career-breaking one, however not less than he’ll have had the belated probability to indicate what he can do within the least hospitable seat in F1.
