Yuki Tsunoda heads into his fifth start for Red Bull Racing at the F1 Imola GP. The 25-year-old scored points in the Sprint and Grand Prix in Miami. He is P11 in the Drivers’ Championship at present.
The differences between the RB21 and VCARB 02
A two-week break between Miami and Imola has allowed the Japanese driver to assess, analyse and learn as he continues to get up to speed in the RB21.
Speaking in his F1 Imola GP print media session, Tsunoda outlined how much trickier it is to react when the Red Bull 2025 challenger has a moment of instability versus the Racing Bulls car he drove in Australia and China.
“I feel like [it is] muscle memory, you know? Like in VCARB, when something happens with the car, it’s super easy to react. I don’t have to think anything to react to it.
“Obviously still some unpredictable movements happening [with the RB21]. Those things are just coming from experience, I guess.”
Tsunoda happy to have the same car spec as Verstappen at F1 Imola GP
At the Miami GP, Max Verstappen ran a new floor as Red Bull Racing look to get on a development path that could bring them back into the fight.
According to Tsunoda, he will have the floor at Imola as well. He is interested to see how he fares against the four-time World Champion with identical machinery and where his limitations are against him.
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to this weekend.
“If I understand correctly, it’s going to be the same car as Max’s this weekend. I get to know at least what exact limitation [I have versus Verstappen].
“You know, it has always [been] covered by a different floor or whatever. But let’s see.”
RB21 issues go beyond oversteer
Asked during his F1 Imola GP print media session whether the movement problems are just because of oversteer, Yuki Tsunoda explained it goes far beyond that.
Once again the Japanese star outlined how tricky the RB21 is on corner entry, a problem that has held back multiple teammates of Max Verstappen since 2019.
“No, not just oversteer.
“You know, as a driver, when you attack the corner, always when you push a lot, always you exceed the limit of what the car can handle. But sometimes… maybe understeer or oversteer, you can use that opportunity with the amount of movement you have in the car on entry to turn faster, basically.
“And I can do that. I could do that easily in a VCARB car. But in a Red Bull car, it’s still… once the window, that kind of opportunity, the timing that you have to turn the steering into the corner, it’s quite narrow.
“And I think that I’ve not really still defined yet what kind of window, or the timing I should turn in exactly.
“So you always have a bit more disconnected feeling in terms of balance more than […] probably Max can do it.
“Yeah, like I said, those things are coming from experience, I guess. But I think it’s getting there. It’s not like it’s the end of the world and it’s going far and far [away].
“This weekend, like I said, at least we’ll get closer to Max’s car.”
Red Bull Racing looking for more load on the car to try and catch McLaren in 2025 F1 battle
Since the Miami Grand Prix last year, McLaren have generally had the fastest car in Formula 1, or close to it. They ended up winning the Constructors’ Championship in Abu Dhabi against Ferrari.
What is unquestionable in 2025 is that they have an exceptional car, particularly in race trim. They look after the tyres incredibly well over longer stints. Miami was the clearest example of that yet as Max Verstappen was blown away by Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris once they passed him.
Red Bull will need to find improvements quickly as Verstappen now trails the Australian by 32 points in the Drivers’ Championship. It remains to be seen whether the clampdown on flexi wings in Barcelona will see changes to the pecking order.
Regarding the current problems with the car, Yuki Tsunoda says the team is focused on getting more downforce on the car, with the team relatively happy with the characteristics of the RB21.
“In terms of characteristic of the car, obviously we need development.
“I mean we saw McLaren and how fast they are. And Max is also struggling to keep up with their pace.
“I don’t think the characteristic difference would make any difference. Maybe a little bit. But the gap we had [in Miami] was quite a lot. So it’s more than that.
“I think we were more focused on the car development. We are, I think, quite happy with the characteristic.
“But just lacking with the load and cooling we have, I guess.”
