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Yuki Tsunoda, a promising driver, is not sure he can be optimistic about Racing Bulls' chances in 2025, as he believes the team will start the season in a worse position than last year, as the new car has not brought the expected improvement.
Racing Bulls maintained good momentum throughout the final stages of 2023, entering last season as one of the most competitive teams in the middle of the grid. However, their strategy to catch up with Aston Martin by accelerating the car upgrade for the Spanish Grand Prix caused unexpected complications.
After the first nine races, the team scored only 28 points, and in the next nine, only six, as they had to return old components, which reduced the team's competitiveness. Later development of the car brought some progress, but the initial problems left a huge mark, and the team fell to eighth place, behind Alpine and Haas.
While not ideal, technical issues can help
Tsunoda admits that while the VCARB 02 is better than its predecessor, the team will not have the desired level of competitiveness for the start of 2025. “It will be difficult to fight for the top 10, but we have made a step forward,” Tsunoda said.
Despite the technical difficulties with the brakes during testing, Tsunoda is not worried, stressing that the problems allow the team to improve preventive measures and prevent the same mistakes from happening again in the future. The Austrian team had a chance to learn a lot from last season.
Asked to expand on his impressions of the new car, Tsunoda replied: “I was quite surprised. Yes, productive days, I would say.”
“There were a few bumps and things didn’t always go the way we wanted, but that’s what testing is for. I think it’s good that we encountered these problems, so that we can prevent them in the future.”
The Japanese driver is known for often sharing optimistic messages, believing in the potential of his team. We'll see what happens next. Red Bull is a team that knows how to handle things.
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