RB Formula 1 CEO Peter Bayer has hailed Yuki Tsunoda’s performances in 2024, citing that he has “transitioned from a teenager to an adult” over the past six months.
Tsunoda has sustained an excellent start to his fourth season in the top flight, beating more experienced team-mate Daniel Ricciardo across the opening four rounds.
The Japanese driver landed the rebranded RB squad’s first points of the season in Australia with seventh and followed that up with 10th place in Japan last weekend.
Despite coming under pressure from RB’s midfield rivals, a slick pit stop and some vital overtakes through Suzuka’s opening esses saw Tsunoda clinch the final point.
With the Italian outfit a fixture in a tight, lower midfield battle where points are at a premium this season, Bayer admitted that Tsunoda’s result was comparable to a win.
“A great success for the team. We earned those points… the team is celebrating as if we won,” Bayer said, referencing RB consolidating its grasp on seventh position.
Bayer believes that Tsunoda deserves to be praised for the manner in which he handled dealing with the pressure that emanated from his native Japanese supporters.
“Everyone wanted to meet him, take selfies with him, talk to him. He was able to stay focused for the race. He came a long way,” the Austrian highlighted.
Tsunoda had conceded he was surprised to retain his drive following a debut season in 2021 that showed glimpses of pace but was marred with a series of crashes.
However, Tsunoda has minimised those errors and developed into a dependable driver for the Faenza-based squad since Pierre Gasly’s departure at the end of 2022.
“We spoke about it often. He’s been going upwards over the last six months, is focused and concentrated. He’s been going forward and is looking strong,” he explained.
“Pace-wise and mentally, he took a step forward. He transitioned from a teenager to an adult. He’s delivering great results,”
Tsunoda has expressed that his ambition is to secure a promotion to the senior Red Bull team amid speculation linking with a future switch to Aston Martin-Honda.
But although he hasn’t been touted as a standout name to step up to Red Bull, Bayer reckons Tsunoda’s continued exploits will propel him into contention elsewhere.
“Helmut Marko has spoken about this and said that he won’t be making any decisions yet,” Bayer acknowledged.
“But I believe that Yuki’s steady push forward will shed a positive light onto him, making him interesting to the teams.”
