Yuki Tsunoda, as a Red Bull driver, aims to perform better in Bahrain than he did at his home race in Japan. However, this is easier said than done; he still has many aspects to adjust to, from the driving behavior of the RB21 to communication with his engineer, and more.
“During such a first weekend, you try to make progress from session to session,” Tsunoda reflected on his Red Bull debut last week. “The free practice sessions went better than expected.” He was eliminated in Q2 during the qualifiers, but managed to gain a few places in the race. However, he did not score any points.
“I am still learning everything about the car. How it drives, what kind of setup suits it. You try out various things and that also takes a lot of time. The qualifiers didn’t go as well as I had hoped, but there were also positive aspects, such as the tyre degradation. So, I am looking forward to the future with confidence.”
Tsunoda hopes to fare slightly better in Bahrain, with points being a nice reward for his transition from Racing Bulls to Red Bull. The differences between his old and new team are significant. “The approach is different from one team to another, that’s always the case. Together with Red Bull, I am now trying to find the way in which I can perform best. Of course, you also have a different engineer, with whom you have to learn to communicate and coordinate. It’s all a bit of an adjustment, but these are things that will improve race by race.”
