Rookie Sensation Yuki Tsunoda Struggles to Tame Red Bull Beast
In a shocking revelation, Yuki Tsunoda has attributed his recent struggles with the Red Bull team to his lack of experience with their machinery. The young Japanese driver was thrust into the spotlight early in the season to replace Liam Lawson, but has found it challenging to match the pace of his teammate, the formidable Max Verstappen, who has already clinched two victories this year.
The Red Bull car is notorious for being a handful to drive, with a narrow operating window that has proven to be a tough nut to crack for many of Verstappen’s past colleagues. Tsunoda, however, remains optimistic about his prospects of improvement as he gains more mileage with the Milton Keynes-based outfit.
“I’m still building progress in terms of confidence and everything,” Tsunoda shared with the media. “The understanding about the car is still getting there, the last few tenths of a second. Especially with track evolution, you want to naturally feel it. When you change the set-up, you want to know what kind of balance you’re going to get.”
The young driver admitted that he underestimated the importance of having prior experience with Red Bull, especially when it comes to extracting competitive pace from the car. The crash he suffered in Imola during qualifying served as a wake-up call for Tsunoda, making him realize the depth of knowledge and understanding required to succeed at the top level of Formula 1.
Despite the setbacks and challenges, Tsunoda remains determined to continue his learning curve and eventually reach the level of performance expected from a Red Bull driver. With each race, he aims to narrow the gap to his teammate and prove that he has what it takes to compete at the highest level of motorsport.
As the F1 season unfolds, all eyes will be on Tsunoda to see how he adapts and improves, and whether he can eventually unlock the full potential of the Red Bull beast.