Tsunoda struggles in Red Bull qualifying debut, faces 14th-place start at home GP

Red Bull Racing/Red Bull Content Pool

SUZUKA, Japan -- Yuki Tsunoda expressed deep disappointment following his qualifying debut with Red Bull, which resulted in a 14th place start for Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix. The home hero was visibly affected after a session that fell short of expectations.

Promoted to Red Bull for his home race after Liam Lawson struggled during the opening two Grands Prix of the season, Tsunoda seemed poised for a strong showing. His progress during the three practice sessions indicated promise, but a misstep during his preparation lap ahead of his final Q2 attempt proved costly.

"I think the warm-up didn't go as I wanted," Tsunoda confessed. "I'm still learning the warm-up. I thought it was okay. I knew it was maybe a little bit compromised, but the penalty was pretty big. A shame that I wasn't able to extract the performance from the car. I think I was looking good from Q1 and everything. It just felt like overall worse and worse throughout. A shame. At least the confidence in the car feels good now. I just wasn't able to put it all together today. Very sad."

Tsunoda also highlighted the impact of windy conditions, which forced an error early in his lap, yet he maintained confidence in the car's handling.

"I had quite a big gusts in Turn 2 -- quite big moments I had -- which were a bit unexpected," he added. "So I had to look through what's happened there, but at least I saw a good pace in Q1, and I feel like I have confidence in the car. I'm still learning in the process, I'm learning, but yeah, it's a shame. I didn't expect this result today."

The Japanese driver’s frustration was palpable, particularly given his initial strong pace. As Tsunoda continues to acclimate to Red Bull machinery, he and the team will aim to build on the lessons from this weekend moving forward.

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