Yuki Tsunoda “knows what’s going to happen” if he can’t improve Red Bull form

Yuki Tsunoda has admitted he “knows what’s going to happen” if he can’t turn around his form at Red Bull.

The Japanese driver was parachuted in to the Red Bull senior team as a replacement for Liam Lawson just two races into the season following his miserable and brief stint alongside Max Verstappen.

After an encouraging run of three points finishes in four races, Tsunoda endured troubled weekends in Monaco and Spain, finishing 17th and 13th.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has insisted that Tsunoda will see out the rest of the season but he continues to struggle to adapt to the difficult-to-drive RB21.

And with F1 rookie Isack Hadjar starring for Red Bull’s sister team Racing Bulls, Tsunoda acknowledged that the pressure on him will only ramp up.

"As long as I don't really perform myself, I know what's going to happen and I know myself, it's not the place I should be," Tsunoda said ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix.

"But let's see. I have confidence that I can come back strong. You guys like to talk about the second seat, about Red Bull, but it is what it is.

"I know there are things I've improved in the past years and past races, especially at the start of this season. There's a lot going on.

"I would say partly this kind of track will be the reset; I think my progress in terms of understanding is getting there, but I just need a bit of time to do it actually on the track with driving.

"It's always easier to understand by doing it actually on the track. But I'm sure it will come at some point, and the progress is there. So I'm not really rushing it too much yet.”

Tsunoda explains Barcelona test

Tsunoda’s hopes of unlocking some key learnings were boosted when he took part in a double dose of Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) in a modified version of Red Bull’s 2023 RB19 car.

This came as a timely test after plans to carry out some vital track time during a recent test at Silverstone ended up being hampered by the weather.

Tsunoda said the run in the RB19 has given him some ideas on where he can work on to accelerate his adaptation to Red Bull’s 2025 challenger.

"I had a lot of laps. I tried the RB19, especially driving with exactly the same track as how I also drove in the RB21 race week," Tsunoda said.

"So you can see a clear difference, but using the academy [control for TPC] tyres, so it's a bit different there. I think I was able to give good feedback to them and give some ideas that maybe we can improve or we can take some benefits from the RB19.

"But generally, it's not that huge of a difference, so it's good. Also the [Pirelli] tyre test was for 2026, so I was only focused on the feedback."