Yuki Tsunoda believes he can beat Max Verstappen after unlocking RB21 potential

Yuki Tsunoda has huge expectations when he arrives in the first Red Bull team. The Japanese believes he can beat teammate Max Verstappen, but only after unlocking everything needed from his RB21 car.

Tsunoda is trying to use the chance in front of him, and try to make a success, but it is clear that it is difficult to expect immediate success. It will take some time.

"It's my first time driving a completely different car - I've only driven for VCARB for the last four years, so this is the first time I'm driving a completely different team's car," said Tsunoda at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

"I'm trying to take advantage of that, and I know that if I unlock that area, I could probably beat him [Verstappen]," he points out.

"I know I can't beat him right away, so I'm just trying to build a good foundation and wait for the moment when I'm in the right shape."

The young driver analyzes the situation carefully, wants to understand the car and take important steps in the future. There are many things, he admits, that he still does not understand, but he tries to get to the heart of the problem.

"I'm just trying to understand how this car works, how to make it work best," he explains. "I don't think I understand the half of it yet. Those things are key and I'm trying really hard to figure them out as soon as possible, so I can work on other things - all kinds of development and stuff."

"So far I'm managing to sort of put it together in qualifying and the race, but at the same time it's quite variable. There are ups and downs from the 1st to the 3rd practice. I just want to be more consistent throughout the weekend."

Tsunoda talks about Max

Although he is aware that Verstappen has far more experience than him, Tsunoda says he has also noticed certain ways in which the four-time champion works, which he should also adopt.

“The thing is, he feels the car more than I do, for example what the temperature of the tyres is like when he comes out of the garage. Qualifying is a good example – as the temperature drops through the sessions, he adjusts, from Q1 to Q3 – as the temperature drops, he adjusts the warm-up, how to warm up the tyres, how to apply pressure in each corner to increase the lap time or the pace on the exit lap, and so on.

I don’t feel it yet. I couldn’t feel the same as I did in VCARB. I haven’t achieved that in this car yet, probably because I still don’t feel completely relaxed driving it.

I’m still in a hurry and I don’t have full control. I think those little details are very important given the current technical regulations, which are very sensitive to tyres – and that one tenth, a couple of milliseconds in each corner, can make a huge difference.”