Red Bull made it clear to Tsunoda “the main priority is Max”

Red Bull has made sure Yuki Tsunoda has no doubts over their priority after he became the team’s latest driver.

Tsunoda will team up with Max Verstappen, who lies second in the drivers’ championship after the opening two rounds. Red Bull’s motorsport consultant Helmut Marko said this week they need him to “support Max strategy-wise,” which Tsunoda acknowledged today.

The new Red Bull driver said his objective is to “basically be as close to Max as possible, which anyway gives good results for the team, also it allows the team to support other strategies in the race.”

“They’ve clearly said the main priority is Max,” he explained in the FIA press conference at Suzuka, “which I completely understand because he’s a four-times world champion and so far already in the last few races even in difficult situations he performed well.

“So [my goal is] to be as close as possible to Max. Also, to help the development as well with my feedback. They were very happy with my feedback in Abu Dhabi [testing], so just continue that. But the main priority is to be close to Max – which won’t be easy, for sure.”

Tsunoda is Verstappen’s third different team mate in the last four rounds. His predecessors Liam Lawson and Sergio Perez lagged far behind Verstappen’s pace in the Red Bull.

However Tsunoda does not expect his new team mate will offer him much help in understanding how to get the best out of their car.

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“Not really, to be honest, I think even if I tapped his shoulder and asked about the car, I don’t think he’s going to say the truth, you know?” he said. “So I’ll just try to discover it myself in the data, how he’s driving. Also on onboard videos, I already checked multiple videos from him in the last two grands prix.”

He said he hasn’t experienced the car’s “trickiness” so far in his post-season test in last year’s chassis or his simulator runs since joining the team last week. “I’ll feel it myself and I’m sure it also depends on driving style. It will behave a little bit different.

“Once I feel the car, in my five years of experience, I believe that will give me some ideas to sort it out. And if I really struggle, whatever, no, I still don’t think I’ll ask him. I’ll just try to discover it with my engineers.

“So far, they’ve been very helpful. [My engineer] already gave some ideas about what kind of characteristics give drivers very little confidence. That information is already stuck in my head and it’s pretty clear. So I’ll just see how it goes after [first practice].”

While Red Bull showed Lawson the door after just two races, Tsunoda said he hasn’t been given a deadline to get to grips with his new car.

“I didn’t get any specific number of races or time to prove myself,” he explained, saying Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has “been very supportive so far and just mentioned the expectations he has of me – what he wants me to achieve.”

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“The pressure always comes once you hit the track,” continued Tsunoda. “But for now, I feel really relaxed.

“It feels similar to when I was at [racing Bulls]. Once I entered hospitality I was feeling the same, I was only thinking about breakfast. So far I’m not necessarily feeling pressure.

“Those things will come naturally, especially during qualifying [at my] home grand prix. But there’s not much point in feeling pressure. I’m feeling confident and hope I can do something different from other drivers.”

2025 Japanese Grand Prix

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• Hamilton says he’s playing catch-up with 2025 tyres after testing disruptions
• Verstappen keeps a lid on his dissatisfaction over Red Bull’s Lawson shambles
• Red Bull made it clear to Tsunoda “the main priority is Max”
• Ferrari not fearing for championship despite falling to fifth in points – Leclerc

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