Red Bull's Tsunoda Makes Statement on Debut, Exciting Japanese F1 Fans

Yuki Tsunoda makes a strong impression on his Red Bull debut, finishing close to teammate Max Verstappen and reinvigorating Japanese interest in Formula 1.

Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull's newest recruit, made a promising start to his tenure with the team, impressing in the first practice session of the Japanese Grand Prix on Friday. Having been brought in to replace Liam Lawson, Tsunoda was tasked with getting as close to his world champion teammate Max Verstappen as possible. The 24-year-old Japanese driver rose to the challenge, steering the RB21 to the sixth-fastest time, a mere tenth of a second behind Verstappen.

Tsunoda's performance delighted the home crowd at Suzuka, and he expressed cautious optimism about his start. “I think we can say today was okay, but it could have been better,” he reflected. Tsunoda acknowledged that the first practice session was more productive for him, saying, “FP1 was better than FP2, I gained a lot more learnings.” Unfortunately, the second session was marred by four red flags, which limited Tsunoda's opportunities to build on his earlier performance.

Despite the disruptions, Tsunoda remained upbeat, focusing on the positives from his first outing with Red Bull. “We didn't set a lap time in FP2 due to the number of stops in the session, you could maybe call the session a shambles for everyone,” he noted. Nevertheless, Tsunoda was heartened by the experience, saying, “Overall, it is okay and I am happy to have confidence in the car.”

Yuki Tsunoda's impressive performance in his first outing with Red Bull came as no surprise to Racing Bulls team principal Laurent Mekies. Mekies had the opportunity to witness Tsunoda's growth as a driver last season and in the first two races of this campaign. He praised Tsunoda's development, saying, “We have seen him being more calm, being more mature, improving massively his technical feedback.” Mekies also noted the significant progress Tsunoda has made over the past 12 months, stating, “Really quite an incredible step... and this is converting to speed... I think it was a very impressive example of improvement. You can sense how much effort and concentration he's been putting into that.”

Yuki. Red Bull. Suzuka 💪

Tsunoda heads out into the daylight for his first session as a full-time Red Bull driver 👀#F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/9ABBSYV4BV

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 4, 2025

Japan has a long history of involvement in Formula 1, with the country hosting the Grand Prix, producing car manufacturers, and supplying tyre manufacturers. However, despite 18 Japanese drivers competing in the championship, none have ever secured a race win. Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu believes that Yuki Tsunoda's presence in a leading team could be a game-changer for the sport in Japan. Komatsu observed, “Certainly after a bit of a dip in popularity of Formula 1 in Japan, I think the interest is definitely coming back.”

Komatsu attributed the renewed interest in Formula 1 in Japan to Tsunoda's impressive performance, saying, “(Yuki) has made a massive step that was visible to everyone, and for a Japanese driver to drive for one of the top teams, it's never happened before.” He emphasized the significance of this achievement, stating, “That's a huge story and that's really gaining momentum again here... I can only see positive signs. So yeah, a really exciting time.”