Tsunoda reacts to no Red Bull promotion: 'Not angry or disappointed'
F1 News
Going into his fifth year of Formula One, Yuki Tsunoda seemed like a clear choice to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull Racing. Instead Liam Lawson, with only 11 race starts, was chosen to drive alongside Max Verstappen. At the F1 75 event in London, Tsunoda responded to questions regarding his reaction to not being chosen to be teammates with the World Champion.
Tsunoda shared to GPblog and other media that his reaction to the news that he would not be racing for Red Bull was fairly calm and how he has already moved on. "It's last year’s things that I’ve already kind of parked in my head to be honest. The moment officially they announced, I would say I didn't actually feel super angry or disappointed at that point to be honest. I don't know. Maybe I was prepared inside of my head at some point, but in the end, whatever."
Recent years have proven that being Verstappen's teammate is not an easy task, but Tsunoda sees similarities between what is expected of him at Red Bull and VCARB. "Even when I go to VCARB or Red Bull, the things I have to do are the same. In both ways, you can do pretty cool projects anyway. Maybe if I go to Red Bull and be teammates with Max it's not easy, but at the same time it's good things and you can prove yourself in a different stage."
Tsunoda taking on leadeship role
"Even in VCARB it's different things that I've never probably experienced in a position more like leadership. I have to also at some point develop myself more. I think I'm just going to stick to what I'm doing," he continued.
"I understand why they chose Liam. It is what it is. It's the things I can't control, and I respect that. I definitely still have hope for this season. I just keep focused on what I have to do, and prove myself more in Formula 1, just in general."
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