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After an unexpected swap with Liam Lawson, Tsunoda debuted for the Milton Keynes squad at the Suzuka Circuit, managing a 12th place finish at his home Grand Prix.
Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda of Japan arrives at the Suzuka Circuit for the first practice session for the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix in Suzuka, central Japan, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
Red Bull’s senior advisor Helmut Marko has delivered his verdict on Yuki Tsunoda’s debut in Japan. After an unexpected swap with Liam Lawson, Tsunoda debuted for the Milton Keynes squad at the Suzuka Circuit on April 6. He managed to pick off a few drivers to secure 12th place at the Japanese Grand Prix. After the event, Marko was one of the first people to speak up on Tsunoda’s performance. The Red Bull advisor is widely known for being a tough critic but seemed content with the youngster’s display on Sunday. “Overtaking here is incredibly difficult. He [Yuki Tsunoda] drove a solid race, but it shows how important qualifying is,” Marko told Sky Germany, as per multiple outlets.
The 2025 Japanese Grand Prix lacked a bit of pizzazz with the top three drivers carving away to fight their battle while the rest of the pack tried to catch up. While Tsunoda already matched Lawson’s best result for Red Bull, he still finished outside of championship points. Lawson’s inability to add to Red Bull’s team tally was a key factor that got him demoted back to Racing Bulls. Marko, however, believed Tsunoda’s debut was ‘good’ despite the complications.
Marko expressed his satisfaction with Tsunoda’s performance after the Formula 1 event. He told Motorsport.com about how the 24-year-old only made one major mistake in the race. “It was good. It was just unlucky that in Qualifying 2 he had this mistake. But otherwise, it was fine,” he said. Tsunoda’s mistake cost him precious time in Q2. A penalty for Williams’ Carlos Sainz saw the Japanese youngster promoted to 14th while his teammate Max Verstappen started in pole position.
Tsunoda summed up his feelings after spending the day behind the wheel in Suzuka. “Mixed feelings. Obviously, the result is not the result I wanted. At least, I wanted to finish in the points this weekend. I think in Qualifying, I just have to do a bit better. I think the pace was there, I was just stuck in traffic all around,” he said, as per Formula1.com. “I’m excited for the next one but, at the same time, it’s a home Grand Prix. It’s once in a year, so it was a bit tough,” Tsunoda added.
Tsunoda’s teammate, Verstappen, secured his first top-place finish in 2025 at the Japanese Grand Prix. It was the fourth successive time the Dutch-Belgian secured a win in Japan. Verstappen’s triumph saw him narrow the Drivers’ standings to one point. He sits behind McLaren’s Lando Norris in second place.
