Sending Tsunoda to Red Bull remains a goal for Racing Bulls

Just over a month ago, Red Bull decided to turn to Liam Lawson to replace Sergio Pérez. Yuki Tsunoda, Lawson's teammate at Racing Bulls, sister team of the Red Bull, and F1 driver since 2021, will therefore stay with the Italian team for a fifth consecutive season, much to the frustration of the Japanese driver.

Red Bull explained its choice by the fact that it believed that Lawson was “mentally stronger” to manage the pressure of being on the front row alongside four-time world champion Max Verstappen, arguably the most difficult teammate in the category, while providing very good technical feedback.

Racing Bulls sporting director Alan Permane, who joined the team last year from Alpine, admits he too has been “guilty” for having had preconceived ideas about Tsunoda's strengths and weaknesses upon his arrival. However, he said that the 24-year-old pilot had positively surprised him.

“I have to admit I was guilty of that when I arrived.”Permanente told Motorsport.com. “I don't know if he has taken a step forward this year because I don't have anything to compare it to. Of course, there are irregularities that he has to correct, a lot of areas that he has to correct. refine. But he's what, 24 years old? He's still a young boy, so he has plenty of time to do it.

“You can hear and see him get frustrated when he makes these mistakes, but his speed is there, there's no doubt about it. He's very fast and his commentary is excellent, his English is excellent. I don't know if it's been a handicap in the past, but I don't see any limitation in that and it's a pleasure to work with him, really.”

While Lawson is committed to Red Bull for 2025 and will do anything to keep that seat in the factory team, Permane said Racing Bulls are still aiming for Tsunoda's promotion to the Austrian team in the future and will do anything to help the Japanese achieve this goal.

“Hopefully, if I can get him to come in at 1% to help him, I’ll be very happy.”he added. “Nothing would please me more than to bring him to a level that allows him to join the most prestigious team, Red Bull. This is the goal he must set for himself, and it is also the “One of the reasons for this team – and it's no longer the only one – is to develop talent. If we can make him a race winner, that's fantastic.”

According to Permane, Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are good examples of drivers who know how to keep their cool behind the wheel. Racing Bulls notably used Verstappen's meteoric comeback during a chaotic São Paulo Grand Prix as a benchmark for managing emotions in difficult circumstances.

“When he gets frustrated, he then gets frustrated with himself for getting frustrated.”added Permanente about Tsunoda. “He knows it and he works hard at it. I said, 'Listen to Oscar on the radio.' He's in his second year and he never gets angry. And he's obviously very fast. You rarely hear Lando gets angry, and that’s the level we need to reach.”

“One of the things we did was replay the Brazil race, it's an extremely intense situation, and Max and his engineer are like having a cup of coffee together in the aftermath. noon That's the reference point and all that information is there for the drivers to work on, and that's one of the areas we're working on with him. There's hundreds of things that. [les pilotes] have to do and it's just a small area. But he's right that when things aren't going well, he just has to come and unload.”