A lot can happen in Formula One in just a short period of time, just ask any driver currently involved in the Red Bull family.
Only three weeks ago in Melbourne, then Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda sat down with The Roar to talk about how he was feeling ahead of the 2025 season.
Now, as we enter his home race in Japan this weekend, the 24-year-old finally gets his shot at the big time, as he races for the senior Red Bull team for the first time in his career.
Currently in his fifth season in Formula One, having made his debut at the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix for what was then known as Alpha Tauri, Tsunoda has taken part in 92 races for a total of 94 points and one fastest lap.
During his chat with me last month, a relaxed Tsunoda said the constant talk around him not getting the second Red Bull seat at the beginning of the season wasn’t phasing him.
Instead, he was quick to talk up how good he was feeling in 2025 for a season that will see him reach the 100 race milestone.
“I’m feeling really good,” he said. “I’m feeling refreshed… I’m excited to show myself that I have gained more compared to last year, which I think last year was already a pretty good season.
“I’m excited to show myself out there to everyone.”
In the two races since that chat, Tsunoda has used that excitement to showcase his skills to the best of his ability, twice qualifying in the top ten, and scoring points in the sprint race in China.
Those two performance were seen as a key reason to swap him into the main Red Bull team alongside reigning World Champion Max Verstappen, especially given the poor form of Liam Lawson, the man who had taken the seat at the team instead of Tsunoda.
Yuki Tsunoda of Japan and Visa Cash App Racing Bulls (Photo by Mark Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
While Tsunoda had shone in his Racing Bulls car, Lawson twice qualified at the back of the field, crashing out of the first race in Australia before finishing a lowly 12th in China.
It’s almost a redemption arc for Tsunoda, given his recent strong form has come off the back of arguably his most complete F1 season to date in 2024.
With a total of 30 points from ten points finishes, many saw Tsunoda as a much more relaxed and calm driver, having settled from an often brash and aggressive driver seen in the previous three seasons.
But despite that, his name was never seemingly seriously considered when talking about a possible replacement for the underperforming Sergio Perez, a fact that surprised many given the experience Tsunoda would’ve brought to the senior team over Lawson.
Good things though come to those who wait, and Tsunoda this weekend finally gets to show what he is capable of when given the opportunity.
Whether he falls into the same cracks of the second Red Bull seat that have preceded him and joins the likes of Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Perez and Lawson on the Red Bull scrapheap, or flourishes into the driver the team so desperately requires remains to be seen, but given Tsunoda isn’t one to look back too much, it’s a long-deserving chance for him that feels right.
This especially seems the case given how he felt he would give advice to the younger Yuki, if he was able to go back to the beginning to offer him advice ahead of his F1 debut in 2021.
“I wouldn’t say much, maybe (tell him) don’t swear as much!
“Maybe I went through a tough season, but I think in hindsight that made me stronger and without that season, I wouldn’t have this kind of strong Yuki like now, so I can just say that.”
