Okay, so here we go. Yuki Tsunoda, right? He suddenly gets to swap the usual Red Bull with the one from Racing Bulls. And, oh boy, there’s drama! I mean, he was just hanging out in Australia and China, doing his thing, when bam! Red Bull says, “Hey Liam, we’re putting Yuki in,” and voilà, he’s now Verstappen’s team buddy. But, he’s gotta drive the RB21 — and this thing is kinda like taming a wild rhino on skates. Like Verstappen (even he!) is grumbling about brakes and all that stuff — in his adorable Dutch accent, I bet — in Bahrain and only managed sixth.
Anyway, Tsunoda’s explaining it all to the press, eyes probably wide open ’cause it’s kinda new and exciting (or terrifying?). He said working on the Racing Bulls was like… almost foolproof. Like, whatever you mess up, it still works. But with Red Bull, it’s a game of millimeters. Get the setup wrong, and you might as well be driving on a banana peel. No idea why that image popped into my head. Tires and setup and, ugh, warm-up (seriously, I can’t even get out of bed without coffee, and he’s talking about quick-start racing). That’s his Titanic iceberg — so to speak.
Now, I gotta say, Tsunoda’s not exactly grumpy about the whole thing. He’s like, “Challenge accepted!” Or something inspirational. Feels a teeny bit like he’s flailing a bit, experimenting at the Saudi Arabian shindig. I can see it, him talking about confidence and windows — windows of opportunity? Or the car’s quirks? — and I’m just over here wondering what goes on in his head mid-race.
And this up-and-down stuff? Relatable. My life, basically. Sometimes he’s brilliant; sometimes he’s got the car fishtailing like it’s forgotten how to drive straight. That’s his normal, and he’s oddly zen about it. But – and this is sweet – he’s kinda stoked about how things are panning out. Slow and steady, that’s his mantra for now. Maybe he embarrasses himself at practice in Saudi, maybe he doesn’t. But he’s chill. And here I am, sipping my third coffee, thinking maybe I should take a leaf outta his book. Progress, folks. Progress.
