12/04/2025 17:30
Yuki Tsunoda has explained how he thinks Max Verstappen's set-up
demands are aiding his domination against Red Bull team-mates.
Verstappen is renowned as being a driver who demands a sharp
front-end from his cars, with Red Bull naturally developing the car
around these traits over Verstappen's nine years with the team.
Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez, and Liam
Lawson have all either left or been discarded as Verstappen's
team-mate, with Gasly and Lawson axed mid-season in 2019 and 2025,
respectively. Tsunoda performed well on his debut at the Japanese
GP after replacing Lawson, although he did not score points in the
turgid race where overtaking was an impossibility. Reflecting on
the situation and Verstappen's demands from the car, Tsunoda
explained how he could feel the "trickiness" in the world
champion's set-up when testing it on the simulator. "In terms of
how I got on in the car, it's still okay, it's too early stages to
say I'm able to drive comfortably or not, but I think I'm able to
cope with the car balance that most drivers struggle with so far,"
Tsunoda told media including RacingNews365. "Actually, we went to
Max's side rather than my set-up [in Japan], which I thought would
be good. Surprisingly, I'm able to drive quite well so I'm happy
with it so far. "Max felt pretty positive in the simulator, so in
the end, Max started with that direction at Suzuka, which I quite
liked as well, but I went for a more extreme side in that direction
and it just didn't work out. "It's not like the set-up that Max
used in China, which was more specific because it was more front
limited, but Max's set-up helps [the rear] and I think with that
set-up probably in the simulator, I definitely felt the trickiness.
"It's incredible how he's able to cope with that kind of set-up.
Even in the simulator, I feel like it's not an easy car." Article
continues below. Tsunoda explains how Racing Bulls is 'easier'
Tsunoda also further explained the differences between Red Bull and
his old Racing Bulls team in terms of trackside operations, and how
the latter can make things "easier." "It is a completely different
approach," said Tsunoda. "I feel like VCARB will tell us how to do
it, and Red Bull is more like they can adjust it from the out lap.
It's quite a different approach there and I wouldn't say which is
better or not, to be honest. "There are a couple of things that
feel like VCARB is doing an easier approach for the driver, more
than Red Bull, I think Max has had that process for nine years, so
he's just able to naturally do it. "I probably have a little bit of
digging to warm up [to it], what kind of approach I should take,
and it's an ongoing process, how we can do better as a team to make
it a little bit easier."
