Despite the chronic ‘curse’ of the second Red Bull seat, Yuki Tsunoda is expected to have a better time at handling it than his predecessors. After Liam Lawson’s shock axing after only two races into the 2025 season, the Milton Keynes-based team is reportedly ready to show more patience with the #22 driver.
Team advisor Helmut Marko has already stated that the Japanese driver will have the entire season at his disposal to make his case. Meanwhile, team boss Christian Horner has revealed his expectations of Tsunoda this season.
“[Horner] wants me to be as close to Max [Verstappen] as possible,” revealed Tsunoda per Planet F1. After seeing the kind of struggles Lawson faced with the RB21, the team is ensuring that Tsunoda has a low-pressure environment that can help him thrive.
However, Tsunoda wants the complete opposite. During a show run in Tokyo, ahead of the Japanese GP weekend, the #22 driver urged the team to build up their expectations and pile on the pressure.
“Everyone is being really considerate and trying not to put pressure on me, which is really kind of them. But honestly, please have high expectations and put all the pressure on me. I can’t guarantee that I’ll live up to those expectations, but I’ll do my absolute best,” he said.
Yuki Tsunoda: “Everyone is being really considerate and trying not to put pressure on me, which is really kind of them. But honestly, please have high expectations and put all the pressure on me. I can’t guarantee that I’ll live up to those expectations, but I’ll do my absolute… pic.twitter.com/u9b3XNIhPz
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) April 2, 2025
Red Bull’s decision to field Lawson at the start of the season means that Tsunoda did not have pre-season testing with the RB21 for him to acclimatize with the car. Hence, going into the weekend at the Suzuka International Circuit, the Japanese racing ace has virtually no running in their 2025 machinery.
But, with the availability of simulator sessions, the #22 driver was able to put in a few laps in the RB21 at the team’s Milton Keynes-based factory. And this has already made him highlight the differences between the RB21 and the VCARB 02.
The Red Bull cars of this generation are notorious for being tricky and undrivable. But Tsunoda disagrees.
“Instead of being an extremely difficult car, I felt the set-up philosophy was completely different to the Racing Bulls,” he explained. Moreover, he believes that the RB21 suits his driving style, something that Lawson struggled to adapt to.
“It is often said that Red Bulls tend to have a lot of front grip and generate oversteer. Personally, I like cars that turn aggressively, and in the past I have adapted my driving style to this type of set-up,” he added.
Going into his home race as a debutant for a front-running squad such as Red Bull means that all eyes will be on him as he aims to begin his career with the team on a positive note.
