Red Bull satisfied with Tsunoda despite the accident.

      "The sensation in the car was genuinely good."

      Red Bull is pleased with Yuki Tsunoda’s performance thus far. Following Liam Lawson's lackluster showing, where he was effectively the slowest driver across the board in Australia and China, Red Bull replaced him with Tsunoda. Although there remains a noticeable gap to Max Verstappen, team advisor Dr. Helmut Marko stated after the races in Suzuka and Bahrain that the Japanese driver will continue driving the sister Red Bull for the rest of 2025. However, during practice on Friday in Saudi Arabia, Tsunoda had an awkward crash. Nevertheless, Marko was completely unfazed, stating, "The speed is good, and the gap to Max is definitely encouraging." Indeed, 24-year-old Tsunoda shared that he is steadily gaining confidence in the car, adopting a setup and driving style similar to Verstappen’s. "The feeling in the car was actually good," he remarked after the crash. "I felt really comfortable during both the long runs and the quicker short runs." Tsunoda confirmed that he is currently meeting Red Bull’s expectations. "I'm still learning, of course, but I also need to show some speed," he explained. "As long as I am performing where Red Bull wants me to be in qualifying and the race, I can use the free practice sessions to improve." "I believe that if I can reach my full potential, I could likely surpass him," Tsunoda added, referring to the four-time world champion Verstappen. Verstappen’s fellow countryman and racing competitor, Renger van der Zande, cautioned Tsunoda against becoming overconfident. "The little guy talks a big game," he chuckled. "But he shouldn’t seriously think he can defeat Max. Everyone draws close, but just when someone believes they've finally caught him, something goes awry. The positive aspect about Yuki is that he seems unconcerned with all of that. He swears a bit, yet he remains quite laid back. Even after the crash, I think he still found humor in it." Similarly, amidst discussions of post-race conflicts and crisis meetings at Red Bull following the debacle at the Bahrain GP, Tsunoda remained unfazed. "In the meeting after the race, the atmosphere in the engineering room wasn't the most pleasant," he commented. "Everyone was expressing their feelings about the race. I’m not sure what the bosses were discussing. Maybe Max was in a separate meeting—I have no idea."