Red Bull's New F1 Driver Yuki Tsunoda Fired 'Max Verstappen' Warning Ahead of Japanese GP 2025

Formula 1 saw its first major driver change of the season courtesy of Red Bull Racing, when the team dropped Liam Lawson and replaced him with Yuki Tsunoda to partner current world driver's champion Max Verstappen. 

Tsunoda, who has been part of Red Bull's sister team Racing Bulls since 2021, will make his debut for the senior team from the next race in Japan. 

The Japanese GP 2025 will be doubly special for Tsunoda as that is his home race and he will be looking forward to making an impact for the team. 

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But the team also has high expectations from him - and Tsunoda has now revealed what the team expects from him for the rest of the season. 

Tsunoda Reveals Red Bull Goal

The goal for the Japanese driver is simple - keep abreast with Verstappen so that the team has strategy options and can compete for the constructor's title too.

“I need to be as close to Max as possible to try and compete for the constructors’ title and benefit the team strategically in every race,” he said.

The reason Lawson was dropped was because he was struggling to even be in the points, let alone compete for podiums alongside Verstappen. 

However, there is an acceptance from Red Bull that their car for this season is a tricky one. 

Will Tsunoda Thrive in ‘Challenging’ RB21?

Even Verstappen has claimed that the car is extremely difficult to drive and Tsunoda acknowledges that his input will be needed in developing the car too. 

"I am aware of the challenges the RB21 has and my job is to try to understand it and develop this car too. My first challenge is to get to grips with this car, I have driven it on the sim but my first time will be in practice, so I have to get up to speed quickly."

The Japanese GP is the first of a triple-header race run, meaning Tsunoda can have plenty of time to get to grips with the car.