Tsunoda enjoys positive start in 'tricky' Red Bull

Yuki Tsunoda says the Red Bull feels “a bit more tricky” to drive in reality compared to the simulator, despite making an encouraging start in FP1 at the Japanese Grand Prix.

There was plenty of focus on Tsunoda’s first outing in the RB21 during the first practice session of the weekend at Suzuka, and he duly posted a best lap time just over 0.1s off teammate Max Verstappen at a similar time in FP1. The afternoon running was hit by four red flags that meant many teams missed out on representative data, but Tsunoda admits he got enough running to feel the challenges of his new car.

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“Yeah, FP1 was better than expected, a good start for myself,” Tsunoda said. “And FP2 I didn’t set a lap time. I think there is a lot of work to do, maybe slightly struggled or something that we have to look through the data in FP2 more, but so far overall it’s OK. I just have to build up confidence more.

“It’s a bit different to the simulator from what I felt, to be honest. A little bit more than I expected in terms of the car feeling. I knew anyway it was always going to be a bit different in the real car and it was a little bit more exaggerated in the real car. It’s feeling a bit more tricky.”

While Tsunoda is a new addition to the Red Bull lineup, Verstappen has been calling for car improvements for some time, and says the lack of confidence he has in the car is hurting his pace.

“It was quite chaotic out there for everyone with the red flags,” Verstappen said. “So we, like everyone else, couldn't complete all the things that we wanted to do. But today has been quite difficult for me, just trying a lot of different things with the car. But it seems like a lot of things are not really clicking at the moment.

“It’s quite difficult just to put the lap down. You need a lot of confidence and commitment around here. And at the moment, I don't feel like I can use that. So we still have a bit of work to do.”

Verstappen also complained of a strange sensation with his whole car flexing during FP1, but says that is an ongoing issue that appears more prominent at Suzuka and will take time to understand. Of more immediate concern for the defending champion is getting a read on how the Red Bull’s race pace is looking on Saturday.

“Not so much [graining] for us. But I was on the soft, so that tire requires a lot of management anyway. You can't really push that tire. And then I only did like three laps at the end.

“So not really a good read. I think tomorrow, potentially in FP3, you will see a lot of teams trying to do a bit more of a longish run with the time that you have. But yeah, it's not been an easy day.”