Yuki Tsunoda’s first flying laps in a Red Bull at Formula 1’s Japanese Grand Prix have given us the first sign of how his debut weekend might play out, even if Friday's disruptions made for an inconclusive experience trackside.
The Race watched Tsunoda across Friday free practice from the high-speed Esses in sector one, looking back towards the cars as they roll out of the first two corners, sweep left into Turn 3 to start the Esses then flick back quickly right in front of our vantage point at Turn 4.
It is a great place to see the cars stressed at high speed, and while no current generation car really looks bad anymore due to the massive loads produced in the ground-effect era, strengths and limitations emerge with a bit of patience.
For Tsunoda, this seemed a good place to start, given all the talk about Liam Lawson’s confidence or lack thereof in the RB21 and how Tsunoda would fair. Though the first lap indicated a little hesitation in the high speed, it quickly became clear this was a conscious choice - rather than a constraint.
Lawson, and several years back Alex Albon, were reduced to driving within the limits of the car by instability at high speed. But as Tsunoda’s laps ticked by it was apparent that the first attempt reflected his own caution as he built up, quickly, to attacking the corner more.
Although it was still not quite as joined up as Max Verstappen by the end, who himself still had a degree of hesitation in the quick transition from Turn 3 to Turn 4, it was pretty close.
Tsunoda didn’t quite attack the entry as much into Turn 3 but lifted less than Verstappen through Turn 4 - marginally different approaches that indicate either a split in style or, perhaps more likely at this stage, Tsunoda still not quite being ready to lean on the car at its absolute limit.
That approach was exacerbated in the long runs, where Verstappen’s even bigger lift in Turn 4 - coming completely off-throttle - was accompanied by an audible reaction from the turbo.
Tsunoda was, relatively, a lot weaker than Verstappen compared to qualifying form, pushing the car a lot less all the way into and through Turn 3, then using the better rotation (from the lift?) in Turn 4 to get on full throttle, which Tsunoda couldn’t quite manage.
Unfortunately, a much disrupted FP2 compromised the second trip trackside, insofar as Tsunoda’s attempted qualifying simulation was immediately scuppered by a second red flag on his outlap.
So he only ever came by at speed on the mediums doing an initial low fuel run - hard to judge on that tyre - then high fuel work that amounted to two completed laps while Verstappen’s medium run was an effectively unfinished push lap. Again, no comparison to be made.
It makes a definitive Tsunoda trackside verdict from day one impossible, especially as it is only Friday. But it was a solid foundation that at least hints Tsunoda is starting from a much more comfortable place than his predecessor ever seemed to enjoy.
