Tsunoda on the myths and reality of the F1 perception problem

Yuki Tsunoda stays on board the Racing Bulls for a fifth season in 2025 after being omitted for promotion to Red Bull, and the less experienced Liam Lawson is as an alternative backed by Red Bull management to take a troublesome second place alongside Max Verstappen.

Since it was originally announced that he can be called up for the 2025 season in the course of the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, the 24-year-old has reliably maintained that he’s ready for a promotion to Red Bull and that he deserves it greater than another candidates. This was confirmed by his record against Daniel Ricciardo after which Lawson, who scored 30 of RB's 46 points and was the most important driver in 18 qualifying sessions.

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At the time, Sergio Perez had just signed a brand new contract with Red Bull, but his ongoing struggles forced Red Bull to make a final change because the hunt for Verstappen's ideal teammate continued.

However, it has long been obvious that Tsunoda could do little to persuade Red Bull's Christian Horner and Helmut Marko that Tsunoda might be that person. Arguments have long been leveled against him, including his temperament, inconsistency and comparatively poor technical support.

While Tsunoda is certainly still a piece in progress, the Japanese believes he has improved in all of those areas over his first 4 years in F1, however it appears the lingering perception of his strengths and weaknesses has been difficult to shake.

In an interview with Motorsport.com, Tsunoda feels that not making the very best first impression when he began his profession in the game still hangs over his profession like a shadow.

“I think it's partly my fault because I couldn't perform right away the first year,” he said. “It creates a certain image of who I’m.

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team Visa Cash App

Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

“[In 2024]Even though I did well, I feel like I wasn't appreciated as much as probably other drivers, but that's the way it is. I just, naturally, just keep doing what I'm doing and doing well and just proving them incorrect.

“I just try to present them fewer excuses and fewer the explanation why I'm not on this seat. So I concentrate on what I can control apart from that, I’ll just accept the situation. I'm sure I can do a greater job than what they think.”

Tsunoda believes he has made significant progress in all of his weaker areas over the past 12 months, even when the Racing Bulls' ups and downs in 2024 have infrequently allowed his drivers to make headlines. But that doesn't mean complacency has set in in relation to the steps he can still tackle a technical level.

“I would say communication has improved, mainly my language on the radio,” Tsunoda said. “I might say that calmness has definitely improved as well, more technical feedback, more focus. I definitely feel the development all year long and I'm very pleased with that. What I want to enhance much more is technical feedback, especially in relation to the quantity of feedback you may give during a race. I believe there's definitely more I can say, even though it's not entirely coherent at times.

“It was harder for us to consistently show our performance. Even if now we have good performance, sometimes the automobile's performance doesn't quite live as much as it. Still, I'm pretty pleased with the consistency up to now. I all the time say that I could have done lots higher in some races, but I showed that I’m quite consistent.

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team VCARB 01

Photo: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

“I began very well and scored points quite consistently since the automobile was quite good. At a certain point we weren't in a position to improve our automobile with upgrades and truly Haas and other competitors began to overtake it. efficiency.”

Red Bull's loss may remain the sister team's gain for now, as Racing Bulls seem delighted to retain Tsunoda for one more yr, pending further team reorganization and a move to a brand new unit in Milton Keynes, next to the venerable Italian headquarters in Faenza. Tsunoda says he felt “tremendous support” from Racing Bulls managers Laurent Mekies and Peter Bayer.

“Honestly, I don't worry too much about what people say on social media because they don't know what exactly is going on,” he said. “The only thing that matters is what the team thinks of me and I definitely feel a lot of support from the team. They understood what happened in each race and I definitely gained a lot of trust from them. That always counts and I really appreciate these efforts from them.”