Tsunoda's 2025 F1 Season at Red Bull: A Post-Mortem
Yuki Tsunoda's 2025 Formula 1 season with Red Bull proved to be a significant challenge, culminating in a disappointing 17th place in the drivers' championship, a stark contrast to his teammate Max Verstappen's eight victories. This in-depth analysis explores Tsunoda's difficulties in mastering the Red Bull RB21, his strategic but ultimately unsuccessful attempts to mirror Verstappen's car configurations, and the unexpected emotional release he experienced when informed of his non-retention as a primary race driver for the 2026 season.
The Enigma of the RB21: Tsunoda's Struggle to Adapt
Yuki Tsunoda’s 2025 campaign with Red Bull Racing was marked by significant struggles, leaving him 17th in the drivers' standings while his teammate Max Verstappen secured eight wins. This outcome was particularly unusual, especially for a driver paired with a title contender. Tsunoda's initial confidence in adapting to Red Bull's car characteristics, which he believed aligned with his preference for aggressive front-end grip, quickly evaporated. He had anticipated a smooth transition, leveraging his past experience in modifying his driving style for cars with different handling traits. However, the reality of the RB21 proved far more complex than he had envisioned. His inability to consistently understand and extract performance from the car became a recurring theme throughout the season, leading to a profound sense of bewilderment even after the final race in Abu Dhabi.
Tsunoda's candid reflections reveal a deep frustration with the RB21, which he described as “tricky” from his very first free practice session at Suzuka. Despite his natural aptitude for understanding car dynamics, he confessed that he never truly grasped the RB21’s unique behavior. This disconnect was evident in his qualifying results, where he only reached Q3 in 8 out of 27 sessions, often being eliminated in Q1 or Q2. He out-qualified Verstappen only once and was, on average, 0.6 seconds slower, highlighting a significant performance gap. The season was a constant battle for confidence, a stark departure from his previous four years with VCARB, where he felt a stronger connection to his car. The Red Bull, he realized, demanded a different approach, one he struggled to unlock despite his best efforts.
The Peril of Replication: Verstappen's Setup and Tsunoda's Lesson
A crucial aspect of Tsunoda's 2025 season involved his decision to experiment with Max Verstappen’s car setup, an approach he now identifies as his "biggest mistake." Despite his strong belief in his own driving style and a notable ego that usually prevented him from emulating others, Tsunoda succumbed to the temptation of trying to replicate the reigning world champion's successful configurations. He observed that while Verstappen was undoubtedly a formidable driver from whom he learned, the data didn't suggest a drastic difference in their driving styles. However, the application of Verstappen's setup, designed for a unique driving approach, often exacerbated Tsunoda's existing car balance issues. For instance, if Tsunoda was struggling with oversteer, Verstappen's setup, which made the car more sensitive to direction changes and prone to sliding, only worsened his situation. Conversely, if he faced understeer, Verstappen's setup, which often favored more understeer, proved equally unhelpful.
This ill-fated experiment echoed the struggles of former Red Bull driver Alex Albon, who also found Verstappen's "eye-wateringly sharp" and highly sensitive car setup challenging to master. Albon's analogy of a computer mouse with maximum sensitivity darting across the screen resonated with the difficulty in controlling such a responsive machine. While Tsunoda acknowledged the RB21’s sensitivity, he noted the car he drove differed from Albon's era. Nevertheless, the core issue remained: Verstappen possessed a unique ability to anticipate and exploit the car's natural tendencies in corners, regardless of its sensitivity. Tsunoda, accustomed to coaxing the car into his preferred driving line, found himself unable to harness this inherent behavior in the RB21. Ultimately, his attempts to adopt Verstappen’s methodology rather than finding his own rhythm with the car proved detrimental, leading to a draining season that ended with him transitioning to a reserve driver role, a decision he accepted with a sense of relief.