There haven’t been many landmark moments in Yuki Tsunoda’s young F1 career so far, largely due to him driving a car that, at its best, has competed for small points. However, during the Japanese driver’s outings, he experienced some memorable moments, both good and bad, including one where he made a mistake partly because of Red Bull.
In an interview with the Paddock Project, the Japanese driver narrated an incident from the 2023 Austrian GP, where he actually missed his braking point because he had too much Red Bull (the energy drink, not the team) to drink before the race.
“I was starting from the behind, like I had engine penalty or whatever, and I needed a good start, so I was drinking a lot of Red Bull, and like it turned to turn three, I forgot to brake, actually lose my front wing, and went off track,” Tsunoda said.
While Tsunoda didn’t retire, it made his afternoon in Spielberg much more difficult, as he finished P19, a lap down.
Since then, he has changed his approach to drinking Red Bull. Not giving up on it completely—maybe because he gets a free supply—Tsunoda has started self-policing because he knows how riled up he gets. “I know what’s the maximum capacity I can hold up,” he added.
Tsunoda also revealed that he has low caffeine tolerance, which he chooses to ignore since Red Bull’s energy drink switches his senses up.
Tsunoda may finally be climbing the ranks at Red Bull
Tsunoda has been a part of RB (formerly AlphaTauri) since 2021, a team that has perennially been stuck in the lower midfield. For the most part, his performances went under the radar for that reason, but lately, he has been getting his flowers.
Tsunoda is reportedly in Red Bull’s plans for an end-of-season test in the RB20, which could be a hint at bigger things to come.
In the past, Tsunoda’s anger issues and inconsistency were a detriment to his dream of driving for Red Bull. However, the last two seasons have shown a more rounded and consistent driver, with increased maturity.
“He’s also more controlled on the radio now. He’s right However, it’s only April now. There are still a lot of races to be driven. When we go into the summer break, we’ll take a closer look at the driver situation,” Marko said.https://t.co/eXl3xUb5w2
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This has also prompted Red Bull team advisor Helmut Marko to publicly back Tsunoda for a future seat. Earlier this year, Marko had said, “He’s (Tsunoda’s) also more controlled on the radio now… When we go into the summer break, we’ll take a closer look at the driver situation.”
The summer break came and went away, but Tsunoda remained at RB. However, if he continues to impress, there could be a chance for him to finally get that Red Bull seat he has always craved.
