Yuki Tsunoda is to be given a private test with Red Bull after this weekend’s Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, amid a vast gap in qualifying to team-mate Max Verstappen.
Tsunoda, who was drafted into the Milton Keynes-based squad in place of the underperforming Liam Lawson, has so far been unable to be fully integrated into the team, having made the switch from Racing Bulls just a week before the Japanese Grand Prix.
Despite outdoing Lawson in terms of results already – having made Q3 twice in three races and scoring points in Bahrain – the Japanese driver is still a distance behind Verstappen in terms of overall competitiveness.
Tsunoda is thought to have been given prior knowledge of the upcoming test when signing for the team, which will come under Red Bull’s TPC [Testing of Previous Cars] programme.
The car Tsunoda will be given is Red Bull’s RB19, its challenger for the 2023 season, and the test will take place at Silverstone.
Tsunoda laments RB21 capriciousness
Red Bull’s current RB21 has been widely noted as being difficult to drive by pundits and the team alike, a problem which Lawson found too hard to cope with.
Verstappen has also been realistic about his own ambitions for this year, going so far as to even publicly concede defeat in the title race already.
However, the Dutchman, having taken pole position for Sunday’s Grand Prix, was a whole nine-tenths ahead of Tsunoda, who will line up in eighth place.
Tsunoda also had struggles earlier in the weekend, having clipped the wall on a run during FP2. Speaking after qualifying, Tsunoda lamented the drivability of the car.
“I had a massive snap in Turn 4. When I push more, this unpredictable snap keeps happening and it’s just really hard to reach the limit,” he said.
“I could squeeze out the last few seconds, or few milliseconds, but currently it’s hard to find the limit so I’m really frustrated.”
He intimated that the gap to Verstappen is no concern at the present moment, given his inexperience with the team.
“I wouldn’t say I’m struggling [against Verstappen] because it’s only the third race, but it’s really unpredictable so far… I still don’t know why I had that snap,” he said.
Tsunoda also noted that the window for the car’s optimum performance was greatly dependent on the temperatures and the amount of rubber on the road.
“Maybe I was too comfortable with the setup I had in free practice, which is when the track was in a bad condition,” he said.
“But when the track got better with these cold temperatures, maybe I have to think about it slightly more.”
READ MORE: F1 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – Qualifying Results
