Yuki Tsunoda’s debut with Red Bull is fast approaching! In just a few hours, the race weekend in his home country of Japan will begin, marking the 24-year-old driver’s first time in action in the RB21. Just a week ago, he inherited the seat from Liam Lawson, who was demoted to Racing Bulls after two Grands Prix. Tsunoda discusses the ‘strange’ turn of events and the fact that top advisor Helmut Marko has yet to reach out to him.
“The first call I received was from Christian Horner, not Helmut Marko,” Tsunoda revealed during a press conference leading up to the GP of Japan. “That was right after the race weekend in China. He told me to prepare for some changes. That was on Tuesday, if I remember correctly.” Two days later, Red Bull announced that the young Japanese driver, after more than four seasons with Racing Bulls, would occupy the seat next to Max Verstappen.
“Surprisingly, Helmut Marko has not called me yet,” Tsunoda continued. “That is highly unusual. I’m not sure if he was busy with other things or something like that. I can’t wait to see his reaction to this driver change. But yes, it is strange. From Formula 3 to Formula 1, he has always called me, but not this time. I’m sure there’s nothing wrong – we still have a good relationship. I’m just curious about his reaction.”
Striving to Match Max
With his upcoming Red Bull debut in mind, Yuki Tsunoda is focusing on the goals he and the team have set. “I need to get as close as possible to Max Verstappen,” he explained. “That will yield a good result no matter what,” he praised the Dutch champion. “With that, I can also support the team’s strategy. They have clearly stated that Max is the top priority, which I fully understand. He is a four-time world champion and has performed very well so far – even with a challenging car.”
“As long as I get close to Max,” Tsunoda reiterated. “In addition, I want to help the team further with my feedback. They seemed very pleased with my directions during the post-season test in Abu Dhabi, so I will continue with that.” Previously, the Red Bull top brass, including Helmut Marko, had doubts about promoting Tsunoda because his feedback was not good enough. During his baptism of fire at Suzuka, the Japanese driver will want to prove the opposite.
