Confirmation came through just before qualifying on Saturday afternoon that Yuki Tsunoda would be staying with RB F1 for the 2025 season.
The 24-year-old has had a brilliant to 2024, scoring 19 points and clearly outperforming teammate Daniel Ricciardo to date.
The Japanese driver admitted it is a relief to know where he will be racing next year as he continues his journey with Honda and Red Bull.
“Yeah, I think that being able to clear [that] clears up my mind, and in the end VCARB is performing well and this is a team I’m scoring points a lot [with].
“And it would have been sad going to another team and see that VCARB ended up in a nice position.
“But no, jokes side actually, always Red Bull and Honda were part of my career. Me and Red Bull, it’s all aligned with the current situation for myself and for the future.
“So, just keep focusing on what I’m doing, and I’m very happy that I’m able to support this team for this big project.”
With Honda leaving RB F1 at the end of 2025, Tsunoda’s future looks somewhat uncertain beyond the end of next year.
Nonetheless, he is fully aware that he needs to “keep performing” consistently well to secure a long term future in the sport, admitting not having a multi-year deal makes things tough.
“It is tricky, but I got used to it. Maybe it’s a good team to train the pressure, you know.
“But yeah, in the end, Formula 1, you want to be World Champion, you need to deal with pressure and anyway you have to be always the best.
“There’s still a lot of things I can improve on for myself.
“So yeah, it’s okay.”
Tsunoda had looked like he would be the lead RB throughout qualifying following a very difficult FP3 where he only managed P15, half a second off teammate Ricciardo.
Things looked very good in Q1 and Q2 as he was P2 and P4 in those sessions, but Tsunoda says he was caught out by a gust of wind in Q3 that cost him valuable lap time, seeing him end up in P8.
“A lot [left] on the table, I would say. I got a bit of an unfortunate gust [of wind] from behind at turn two, and I lost the car completely, so I lost a lap time there.
“Especially looking at Q1 and Q2, I was pretty consistent and I was in the top five.
“And actually considering my pretty bad lap, I mean I ended up in P8, so yeah, obviously there was a mixed feeling.
“But at the same time, I was not really in good condition in the three practices, so it was a good turnaround anyway.
“And the first time [second after Imola] for the team to end up [in the] top ten with both cars, so still positives.”
Daniel Ricciardo is a driver under pressure due to his tricky start to 2024, especially in qualifying. Today’s P5 marks the second time this year he has outperformed Tsunoda in Grand Prix qualifying.
The Japanese driver is pleased for his teammate and says he’s still learning plenty from the 8-time Grand Prix winner.
“Yeah, I mean, Daniel was performing well since free practice one. He’s experienced, so he knows how to deal with this kind of pressure.
“And yeah, I think well done to him going through Q3 and both cars now in the top ten.
“So in the end, now we can play around a lot of strategy for tomorrow. So I think it’s gonna be a fun day hopefully for us.
“And yeah, I mean, obviously he’s a fast driver, I’m learning a lot of things already from him.
“So yeah, so far we have a good relationship.”
