Yuki Tsunoda was enthusiastically welcomed by the audience in Tokyo

      Today in Tokyo, at the Honda Welcome Plaza showroom, Yuki Tsunoda appeared to the Japanese public for the first time as a Red Bull Racing driver, which, of course, aroused the increased interest of fans looking forward to the debut of their favorite at the Japanese Grand Prix.

      This center exhibits a wide variety of equipment related to Honda's success story in auto and motorsport, including Lotus and McLaren cars with engines manufactured by the Japanese corporation, which Ayrton Senna used to drive, as well as Max Verstappen's RB16B and Marc Marquez's champion motorcycles.

      Now, among this impressive collection is the VCARB 02 car, which Yuki piloted this year. Eyewitnesses report that as early as 7 a.m., several hundred fans gathered near the Honda center, although there was still an hour left before the opening and before the start of ticket sales.

      Honda and Red Bull have already managed to prepare for the meeting with the public – they brought a lot of souvenirs, including various kinds of personalized merchandise from Tsunoda, and the trade in all this was quite brisk.

      There was an atmosphere of general enthusiasm around her, and the interest of the large audience was also explained by the fact that other Japanese auto and motorsport stars from different years came to meet her. For example, Takuma Sato, Satoru Nakajima and several motorcycle racers competing internationally.

      When Yuki Tsunoda appeared in front of the fans, he was greeted with a real ovation. He shared his positive attitude ahead of the home leg of the season, where he will compete for the first time as Max Verstappen's team-mate, and stated that he was not intimidated by the skittish nature of the RB21 and the difficulties of adapting to this car.

      According to Yuki, when he piloted the RB21 in the simulator, it did not seem to him that taming this car was so difficult. Moreover, when he announced that he was determined to fight for the podiums, although first he had to figure out the specifics of the new car, the audience had already rewarded him with thunderous applause in advance.

      "To be honest, I never expected to drive for Red Bull Racing at the Japanese Grand Prix," said Yuki. "This is the last year of the partnership between Red Bull and Honda, and I consider the opportunity to race in Suzuka behind the wheel of a Red Bull Racing car to be a kind of fateful sign.

      Everything is going well, that's why I'm here today. Of course, I'm very glad that I got this opportunity, although when I start to think that I suddenly became a Red Bull Racing driver and will start the Japanese Grand Prix in this capacity, I just can't believe it. I want to avoid high expectations, but in this race I would like to get on the podium. At the same time, I understand that it won't be easy for me at first.

      My priority task is this: first of all, I need to understand the machine, to understand how its behavior differs from VCARB. If in the course of training I feel comfortable driving, then there will be results. And if I manage to get on the podium in the end, then it will be incredibly cool."

      In any case, it is felt that in Japan, Tsunoda's upcoming debut at Suzuka as a Red Bull Racing driver is perceived as an event of almost national significance.