Yuki Tsunoda breaks his silence on losing out the opportunity to be Max Verstappen's teammate

Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda claimed that he would give fewer excuses to Red Bull in the future after losing out on the opportunity to be Max Verstappen's teammate in 2025. The Japanese driver had a solid season last year when he outperformed Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson within the same team and scored most of the points for the Faenza-based outfit.

Having scored 30 out of the team's 46 points and finishing P12 in the driver's championship, it was a good return for the Red Bull junior. However, he lost out on the opportunity to join the senior team to Liam Lawson despite the Kiwi getting outperformed by him in both races and qualifying.

Speaking with Autosport, Tsunoda analyzed his situation with Red Bull while delving into his plans for the 2025 season, and his failure to get recognition for his performances in 2024, saying:

"I think that part of it is kind of my fault because I wasn't really able to perform straight away in the first year. It creates a bit of an image of who I am. [In 2024], even though I was performing well, I feel like I didn't get really get credit as much as probably other drivers get, but it is what it is.

"I just naturally, just keep what I'm doing and performing well and just prove them wrong. I just try to give them fewer excuses or reasons why I am not in the seat. So, I just focus on what I can control, those things other than that, just accept the situation. I'm sure I can do a better job than what they are thinking." he added.

Tsunoda joined the Faenza-based outfit in 2021 after a year in F2 and has been part of the Red Bull junior program with strong backing from Honda. The 24-year-old has improved every year as he has gained more experience at the pinnacle of motorsport.

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Yuki Tsunoda sheds light on his improvements in the 2024 season

Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda believes that he has improved in multiple areas such as communication, giving better technical feedback, and having better control over his emotions inside the car.

As quoted by the aforementioned source, the Japanese driver reflected:

"I would say the communications side has improved, mainly my language on the radio. The calmness, I would say, is also definitely improved, more technical feedback, more focused. I can definitely feel the improvement throughout the year and I'm very happy with it."

If Yuki Tsunoda is once again overlooked for a promotion to the senior team at the end of the 2025 season, he might opt out of the Red Bull junior program. Given his ties with Honda, he could be a candidate for Aston Martin in the future.