Tsunoda contradicts Red Bull with remarkable RB21 assessment

Yuki Tsunoda has contradicted Red Bull ahead of his competitive debut for the team this weekend by insisting the RB21 has not felt "tricky to handle" in the simulator. 

Red Bull announced last Thursday that it would swap Liam Lawson and Tsunoda from the Japanese Grand Prix, with the outfit needing the latter driver's experience to help improve the car.

Whilst Tsunoda has never physically driven the actual RB21, he has tested it in the simulator and insisted it is not as much of a handful as the Milton Keynes-based team has made out. 

The Austrian outfit has a history of designing its cars to suit Max Verstappen's driving style, often causing issues for whoever is alongside him. 

Tsunoda is eager to set up his car differently from the reigning world champion and do things his way at Suzuka, in a car he appears to have no concerns about.

"I spent about two days in the simulator," Tsunoda revealed at a Honda event held in its Aoyama headquarters. "From that experience, I didn’t find the car to be that challenging to drive.

"I definitely got the impression that the front end is very responsive, as people often say. But if you ask whether it felt tricky to handle, I wouldn’t say it gave me a particularly strange feeling, at least in the simulator.

"Of course, how I want to set up the car is probably different from Max. I want to develop my own car set-up, get a good understanding of it, and gradually get up to speed from FP1."

The 24-year-old has already outlined that he is targeting a podium at his home race on his competitive Red Bull debut, but recognises he is under immense pressure. 

Nevertheless, it is an opportunity he plans to make the most of and joked when his mentor, former racing driver Ryo Michigami, pointed out that he did not want to apply pressure.

"Yes, please pile on the expectations and pressure!" laughed Tsunoda.