Yuki Tsunoda's first season with Red Bull ended in disappointment, finishing 17th in the drivers' standings while teammate Max Verstappen was runner-up. Now, Tsunoda opens up about why he struggled with the RB21.
Speaking on the Beyond the Grid podcast, Tsunoda admitted he still doesn't fully understand the car that took Verstappen to eight wins. "Normally I'm able to understand the car, what I'm driving, what kind of characteristic," he said. "But it feels like even after Abu Dhabi, I didn't know what kind of car I was driving. I still don't understand what was the issue and what things made me struggle to learn about this car."
Tsunoda joined Red Bull from the 2025 Japanese GP onwards, replacing Liam Lawson who was axed just two races into his debut season. Expectations were high, but he struggled to match Verstappen. He admitted his confidence sometimes vanished. "I thought confidence was there, but some races I just somehow lost the confidence. I still don't understand the car, to be honest."
Interestingly, Tsunoda revealed he normally avoids changing his driving style. However, frustration with the RB21 led him to try Verstappen's set-ups and tip sheets. "One thing about myself: I have big enough ego to not change my driving style," he explained. "I know what I'm doing in terms of driving and I believe in myself. So, I never try to change my driving style to another driver's, even though the driver is competitive and fast."
Still, he acknowledged that Max Verstappen was a different case. "He's a world champion, he proves a lot of things and I still learn a lot of things from his driving. My core driving is the same. And at some time, probably the first year out of any years since I started, I thought about changing driving style and trying to do something similar to Max."
But trying to replicate Verstappen only made things worse. "What I did most – and what I think now was the biggest mistake last year – was to try to replicate the set-up," he admitted. "Even knowing that sometimes, if I feel the car very oversteer, Max's set-up in theory makes the car worse, more sensitive in the direction change, or makes the car slide more. I tend to choose the set-up, even though I'm already struggling with oversteer."
The decision backfired. Instead of helping, it further eroded his confidence. "What was I thinking? I thought it was a good idea, but it wasn't," he added. "I think it was a big mistake."
Tsunoda still cannot fully explain why he struggled with a car so dominant in Verstappen's hands. "I still don't understand what the issue was," he concluded. It's a valuable lesson on how difficult it is to adapt to a highly specific car, even for an experienced driver like Tsunoda.
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