Yuki Tsunoda sets Max Verstappen target: 'I can beat him'

Yuki Tsunoda has expressed confidence he can beat Max Verstappen once he gets over the learning phase of the Red Bull F1 car.

Tsunoda was called up to the Milton Keynes-based squad just two rounds into the current season, replacing Liam Lawson who struggled for pace alongside Verstappen.

A breakthrough was made in Bahrain last time out as Tsunoda ended qualifying and the race inside the top 10.

Verstappen has held the upper hand over his Red Bull team-mates in recent times, with Tsunoda being the fifth driver in seven seasons to line up alongside Verstappen.

Detailing his approach, Tsunoda stated he is using the practice sessions to learn more about the RB21 car rather than attempting to set the fastest lap time possible.

“Obviously I’m still learning, but also the pace has to come at the same time,” Tsunoda told media including RacingNews365.

“Those things are always important in qualifying and the race. As long as they are the two sessions I’m in a good position that Red Bull wants me to be, FP1 to FP3, I will use as learning sessions.”

Tsunoda's promotion to Red Bull came in his fifth season, having spent four full campaigns racing for the sister Racing Bulls squad.

With no driver being able to challenge Verstappen at Red Bull across the last seven years, Tsunoda has set his sights on breaking the trend in the near future.

“It's my first time driving a completely different car - I only drove with VCARB for the last four years, so it's the first time I drove a completely different team's car,” he said.

“I’m trying to use that, and I know that if I unlock that area, I would be able to probably beat him [Verstappen].

“I know myself that I can't beat him straight away, so I'm just trying to build a good baseline and wait for the moment that I can be in the [best] shape.”