There is only so much you can extrapolate from one-and-a-bit practice sessions on a day when the only thing really catching fire was the grass around the Suzuka circuit. But it is fair to say that Yuki Tsunoda’s first day in a Red Bull was a qualified success.
All eyes were on the Japanese after the team’s dramatic decision to parachute him in for Liam Lawson after only two races of the season.
To go sixth-fastest in FP1, only 0.1 seconds slower than his new team-mate Max Verstappen, in a car that is supposedly so sensitive that no one else can handle it but the Dutchman, was therefore impressive.
There are caveats of course. Verstappen was not happy with his set-up, saying he had no front end and complaining of his car “flexing” in the slow speed corners. FP2 was a write-off after all the red flags. It is a tiny sample size etc, etc. Tsunoda could yet be crushed in qualifying on Saturday, and the speculation and the pressure would all start up again, just as it did for Lawson.
But it does not feel like it will. Tsunoda already looks as if he is starting from a much more comfortable and confident place than his predecessor ever reached.
He sounds it too. When he was informed at one point of his speed relative to George Russell, Tsunoda responded: “Yeah, I think let’s focus on ourselves. I don’t need much reference time.”
A closer look at Yuki Tsunoda's fastest lap from FP1 👀🏎️ pic.twitter.com/gOjmUuJuN0
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) April 4, 2025
“Calm and measured,” was how Anthony Davidson, the former Honda driver, described his radio communications. Not words which have been used very often in the past where Tsunoda is concerned.
Davidson was impressed, too, by the way in which Tsunoda committed to his laps, attacking corner entries and getting out of shape a couple of times. “He showed his intent,” the Briton noted, approvingly.
“He showed the commitment that we all expected from him, getting the car all out of shape on the exit of turn 11 and then again through the chicane, the rear end getting away from him early on in FP1 as he was finding his feet in this notoriously tough car to drive. A long way to go but I think we can say his first day was a good one.”
With Lawson having an OK-ish day in the Racing Bull – three-tenths behind new team-mate Isack Hadjar in FP1 before, ironically, managing to be one of the few drivers ...
