Tsunoda needs more time to push 2025 Red Bull F1 car to the maximum

Yuki Tsunoda believes he nonetheless wants extra time to push the Pink Bull Components 1 automotive to the utmost after a blended begin to life on the staff. 

The Japanese driver began the 2025 season with sister squad Racing Bulls, however then changed the underperforming Liam Lawson at Pink Bull after simply two grands prix.

Though Tsunoda has been an enchancment on Lawson, the 24-year-old has solely scored two factors in his three grands prix aboard the difficult-to-drive RB21 – citing qualifying as an space to enhance as he struggles to become familiar with the automotive. 

“It simply wants extra time, I suppose, to get used to it totally,” mentioned Tsunoda forward of this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix.

“I believe I am pleased with the progress to this point, and I believe the arrogance is kind of there. However simply while you push 100% on the restrict in qualifying, which you form of face virtually [for the] first time in qualifying, proper? Since you do not actually push 100% till then. 

“In qualifying, more often than not to this point, I skilled a brand new form of behaviour from my automotive and simply not in a position to generally address it. However I would not say the automotive is tremendous, tremendous tough, it simply wants extra time and to outline the place the restrict is.”

Tsunoda has arguably taken on probably the most tough job in F1, which is being the team-mate of four-time world champion Max Verstappen, whose very explicit driving model requires a sure sort of automotive.

A lot of his team-mates have struggled to deal with this, so Tsunoda joined a Pink Bull squad that was combating its equipment, as discrepancies between the observe and the staff’s wind tunnel resulted in points with the automotive. 

“I might say it is not sophisticated to drive round,” Tsunoda added. “It is not straightforward, for certain, [but] what I felt within the VCARB was a bit extra lenient and a bit extra forgiving with any instructions. 

“Undoubtedly Pink Bull has a sharper, form of narrower window that they’ll kind, which I believe being a window to drive round continues to be not simpler than a VCARB, however higher than I assumed initially once I jumped into Pink Bull.”  

Whereas off the tempo in contrast with Verstappen, Tsunoda is studying. He scored his first factors for Pink Bull with ninth in his second race in Bahrain, however then crashed out every week later in Saudi Arabia.  

Now, as he prepares to enter his fourth race with Pink Bull, Tsunoda mentioned he is aware of what he “desires to work on” with the intention to become familiar along with his new automotive, however conceded that race-winning tempo gained’t be straightforward to come back by.  

“Typically you simply have to just accept the form of difficulties of the automotive,” he mentioned. Typically if you happen to’re feeling form of slightly oversteer, slightly understeer, if nonetheless lap time is nice, simply in all probability keep on with the path.”