Simply days forward of his debut race weekend with Crimson Bull, Yuki Tsunoda has opened up on his sentiments concerning the RB21’s dealing with traits following a two-day simulator session.
Following a tough opening interval to the season for Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing have made the choice that from the 2025 Japan Grand Prix, Yuki Tsunoda can be promoted to the Milton Keynes-based outfit whereas the New Zealander will return to Racing Bulls.
For the reason that announcement, the Japanese driver has accomplished a second seat match as he has already carried out one earlier throughout the weekend which was crucial as a result of he fulfils the position of reserve driver at Crimson Bull.
Tsunoda, who lives in Italy subsequent to Racing Bull’s Faenza headquarters, took half in a Honda occasion in its Aoyama headquarters the place he stated that he’s welcoming the stress related to being Max Verstappen’s team-mate and driving Crimson Bull’s troublesome automobile.
“To be trustworthy, I by no means anticipated to be racing for Crimson Bull on the Japanese Grand Prix. That is the ultimate yr of Crimson Bull and Honda’s partnership, so attending to race in Suzuka as a Red Bull Racing driver seems like destiny. Every thing has fallen into place in simply the suitable manner for me to be standing right here immediately.
“After all, I used to be completely happy about becoming a member of Crimson Bull, however after I thought of it fastidiously, the thought of abruptly racing for Crimson Bull on the Japanese Grand Prix felt so unreal.
Reflecting on his expectations, Tsunoda has revealed that he’s dreaming of standing on the rostrum at his debut race with Crimson Bull.
“I don’t wish to elevate expectations an excessive amount of, however for this Japanese Grand Prix, I wish to end on the rostrum. That stated, I do know it received’t be simple proper from the beginning.
“My precedence is to first perceive the automobile, the way it behaves in comparison with the VCARB. If I can naturally take pleasure in driving it as I get conversant in it in FP1, then the outcomes will observe. And if that results in a podium end, that will be unimaginable.
Having performed a two-day session in Crimson Bull’s simulator, Tsunoda stated that defined that he found the RB21 to not be “that difficult to drive”.
“I spent about two days within the simulator. From that have, I didn’t discover the automobile to be that difficult to drive. I undoubtedly bought the impression that the front-end may be very responsive, as folks usually say.
“However for those who ask whether or not it felt tough to deal with, I wouldn’t say it gave me a very unusual feeling, a minimum of within the simulator. After all, how I wish to arrange the automobile might be completely different from Max.
“I wish to develop my very own automobile set-up, get an excellent understanding of it, and step by step rise up to hurry from FP1.”
