‘Mixed feelings’ – Tsunoda looks back on ‘pretty frustrating’ debut race for Red Bull

Yuki Tsunoda was left with "mixed feelings" after finishing 12th in the Japanese Grand Prix, having hoped for more from his debut Red Bull weekend.

Tsunoda was promoted from Racing Bulls to Red Bull following the Chinese Grand Prix, with Liam Lawson headed in the opposite direction, with his home race weekend initially getting off to a promising start.

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Having shown pace strong enough for the top 10 throughout the Free Practice sessions, an error in the second phase of Qualifying left him 15th fastest, one position behind Lawson – although these placings improved by one after Carlos Sainz was penalised for impeding Lewis Hamilton.

In the race, Tsunoda moved past Lawson and Pierre Gasly – another former Red Bull driver – to cross the line in 12th, 58 seconds behind his race-winning team mate Max Verstappen.

Summing up his day behind the wheel, Tsunoda said: “Mixed feelings. Obviously, the result is not the result I wanted. At least, I wanted to finish in the points this weekend.

"I think in Qualifying, I just have to do a bit better. I think the pace was there, I was just stuck in traffic all around.

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"It was pretty frustrating, but at the same time, I feel like I’ve learned a lot of things in the 53 laps. I learned more than anything, so I’m positive about that.

“I’m excited for the next one but, at the same time, it’s a home Grand Prix. It’s once in a year, so it was a bit tough.”

Despite his critical self-reflection, Tsunoda’s pace across the weekend earned him praise from Red Bull Motorsport Advisor Helmut Marko.

“He lost out by making a mistake in Qualifying at Turn 1," said the Austrian. "but in all the other sessions, he was pretty near two-to-three tenths to Max, and that is what we are looking for.”

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