Red Bull remains content with Yuki Tsunoda's performance despite a crash during Friday's running in Saudi Arabia.
After Liam Lawson struggled significantly in Australia and China, Red Bull replaced him with Tsunoda. Although a notable gap to Max Verstappen persists, team advisor Dr Helmut Marko confirmed after Suzuka and Bahrain that the Japanese driver will stay in the sister Red Bull car for the entire 2025 season.
Tsunoda's awkward crash on Friday in Jeddah did little to shake Marko's confidence. "The speed is good, and the gap to Max is absolutely pleasing," Marko said.
The 24-year-old Tsunoda noted that he is steadily gaining confidence, adopting a setup and driving style akin to Verstappen's.
"The feeling in the car was actually good," he said after the Friday crash. "I felt really comfortable, both on the long run and on the faster short runs."
Tsunoda believes he is meeting Red Bull's expectations. "I am still learning of course, but at the same time I also have to show some pace," he said. "But as long as I am where Red Bull wants me to be in qualifying and the race, I can use the free practice sessions to learn. I know that if I can tap into my full potential, I can probably beat him," he added, referring to quadruple world champion Verstappen.
Dutch racing driver Renger van der Zande cautioned Tsunoda against overconfidence.
"The little man has a big mouth," he laughed. "But he really shouldn't get it seriously in his head that he's going to beat Max. Everyone gets pretty close, but every time someone thinks they've finally got him, it goes wrong. The nice thing about Yuki is that it doesn't seem like he cares about all of that. He swears a bit, but he's pretty relaxed. Even when he crashed, I think he still thought it was all a bit funny."
Tsunoda also shrugged off the tense atmosphere following the Bahrain Grand Prix, where post-race discussions were heated.
"I mean, in the meeting after the race, there was not the most pleasant atmosphere in the engineering room," he said. "Everyone was just saying their feelings about the race. I don't know what the bosses were talking about. Maybe Max had another meeting—I don't know."
