Yuki Tsunoda believes he “impressed” Red Bull with his technical feedback during the Abu Dhabi Formula 1 post-season test.
Tsunoda made his on-track debut in a Red Bull after four seasons in the sister team last week at the Yas Marina Circuit.
The test came at the behest of Tsunoda’s long-term backer HRC [Honda Racing Corporation] as the Japanese marque is keen to see its star driver promoted to the senior Red Bull outfit.
Tsunoda keeps being overlooked in the conversation about who should replace Sergio Perez if the Mexican leaves Red Bull, and his temperament and technical abilities are questioned.
However, speaking at the Honda Racing 2024 Season Finale, Tsunoda believes he has helped show Red Bull mechanics he is up to the task in that department.
“They [Red Bull] were mainly focussed on car feedback and how I conducted myself within the team,” Tsunoda explained (via auto sport web).
“I believe they already know I have the speed, but they were curious about my feedback, which was an unknown for them.
“So I made sure to communicate as thoroughly as possible.
“I received positive feedback from them, saying they were impressed.
“The elements I learned earlier this season were put to good use during the test.”
Tsunoda learned the importance of ‘maturity’ from Daniel Ricciardo at RB
Tsunoda has had two teammates at RB in 2024, the first being Daniel Ricciardo and the second being Liam Lawson.
The Japanese driver revealed sharing the RB team with the more experienced Ricciardo was educational.
“I learned a lot from Ricciardo, particularly things I hadn’t been able to do myself,” Tsunoda explained.
“Competing with him while absorbing those aspects was a great experience.
“In post-session meetings, even when things didn’t go well, he remained incredibly composed, and I could sense his experience and professionalism.”
Tsunoda’s start of the 2024 campaign with Ricciardo culminated in a disgruntled outburst in the season-opening Bahrain GP as he was frustrated with team orders.
The Japanese driver also drove erratically around Ricciardo on the cool-down lap.
But since then, Tsunoda has developed across the 2024 campaign and he believes he’s “become better at controlling my emotions during driving and providing feedback on the car over the radio in a more efficient manner.”
It’s now up to Red Bull to determine whether Tsunoda has developed in terms of maturity and technical feedback to an extent worthy of a promotion.
READ MORE – Yuki Tsunoda: ‘It’s quite clear I should get a chance’ at Red Bull
