The 25-year-old was promoted to Red Bull just two races into the 2025 season, replacing Liam Lawson, and has since faced the tough task of learning the intricacies of the RB21 while going head-to-head with four-time world champion Max Verstappen.
While Red Bull has often been criticised as a one-car team built around Verstappen, Tsunoda says that hasn’t been his experience — and that the support from Christian Horner and Helmut Marko has been particularly strong in recent weeks.
“Definitely, yeah,” the Japanese driver said when asked if he feels he has the full backing of the team. “Especially these days and more than ever, from Christian [and] Helmut.
“I went to the south of UK with a physio [from] Red Bull Racing to kind of reset myself, and that was coming from them. They just wanted to have fresh air and everything. So that helps a lot to me to build up my rhythm.
“Also, we’re going to try a couple of things that I never tried, and they allow me to do quite a lot of things that probably they wouldn’t do in a normal case. So, yeah, definitely.”
It’s been a steep learning curve for Tsunoda, who admits he’s still getting to grips with Red Bull’s notoriously tricky car, especially over long runs and in changing conditions.
“It depends on the driver, but also at the same time, I didn’t see yet so far the driver who probably got used to it in that car straight away,” he explained. “So that’s probably the fact, but at the same time, I feel I’m in the right direction, at least on the short runs.”
“Yeah, I missed out probably Q1 in Austria, but at the same time, [the] gap was pretty small.
“In terms of the whole package, I know there’s something to come as well into this year compared to Max. So once I get full package, I still have good confidence that I can be in a level that they want.
“That’s what I’m working hard on.”
“In terms of the long run is exactly the place that I’m still probably struggling at, but I’ll find a way.
“When the condition changes every session, maybe I’m taking a little bit more time compared to where I used to have at VCARB where for example, I knew exactly how the car was going to drive in each set-up
“But maybe in the Red Bull, I had to build up, which for me is the right approach. I don’t think it’s a wrong approach, but just takes a bit of time.”
Despite a tough race in Austria, Tsunoda said Marko in particular has remained constructive and blunt in his feedback.
“He was not obviously happy with my race in Austria, but at the same time, he’s still willing to continuously help or support me,” he explained. “He still trusts my talent and the speed, so I just have to prove on track that I can do it.
“Helmut is just a direct guy. Some races if you do bad, he just tells me what was wrong and what was right. It’s a kind of pressure that he gives me.
“Sometimes [he] brings me into the level that I never think about or extracts from me some performance.
“It’s just the way that he works since when I was a junior, and yeah, I appreciate the amount of support I’m getting so far.”
Marko has also made it clear in recent interviews that Red Bull has no plans to replace Tsunoda this year — another factor that has helped ease pressure on the young driver.
“He still trusts my talent and the speed, so I just have to prove on track that I can do it,” he added.
Tsunoda also responded to recent comments from McLaren boss Zak Brown, who suggested that without Verstappen, Red Bull would be behind Racing Bulls in the pecking order.
The Japanese driver — who currently sits behind the man he replaced, Lawson, in the Drivers’ Championship after the Kiwi’s sixth-place finish in Austria — didn’t shy away from the remark but made it clear his focus is firmly on his current challenge.
“It’s the truth that probably we’d be behind,” he said. “VCARB so far, yeah, [are] definitely performing well.
“I’ve shown good performance [in the] first two races [for Racing Bulls]. Probably if everything goes well…I was probably scoring a lot of points. So it’s good that they’re performing.
“But at the same time now, I’m fully focused on Red Bull, and it’s a car that definitely you can make it work.
“I just need more time.”
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