Sports
Tsunoda Ready for Suzuka Spotlight After Red Bull Promotion
Yuki Tsunoda will be in the spotlight at his home race, the Japanese Grand Prix, following his sudden promotion to Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen. His rise comes as the team looks to close the gap to McLaren after a strong start to the season by their rivals.
Already a fan favorite at Suzuka, Tsunoda now faces even greater expectations after replacing Liam Lawson, who was demoted following a poor start to his debut season. Lawson failed to score points in his first two race weekends, prompting Red Bull to make the switch.
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Tsunoda, who previously raced for Red Bull’s sister team RB, will now step into one of the most competitive seats in Formula 1. Team principal Christian Horner has urged the Japanese driver to stay as close as possible to Verstappen on the track. Despite the team’s clear focus on Verstappen’s title bid, Tsunoda revealed that he has been assured he won’t always have to yield positions to the reigning champion.
“If I’m in front of Max in some situations, I’ve been promised that I won’t necessarily have to swap positions,” Tsunoda told the BBC.
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The 24-year-old hopes to score points in his Red Bull debut, having already shown flashes of speed this season. He finished 12th in Melbourne, claimed sixth place in the Shanghai sprint, and only missed out on points in the Chinese Grand Prix due to a flawed pit strategy by RB.
Red Bull will race with a special white livery at Suzuka to honor Honda’s first Formula 1 victory in 1965. With Verstappen currently second in the drivers’ standings, the team hopes that Tsunoda’s promotion will boost their constructors’ championship challenge after losing early ground to McLaren.
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Sourced:EWN
