‘Everything got worse and worse throughout’ – Tsunoda reflects on tough Qualifying debut for Red Bull in Japan

A frustrated Yuki Tsunoda conceded that “everything got worse and worse” during a disappointing Qualifying debut for Red Bull at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Tsunoda failed to escape Q2 at Suzuka in P15 spot and was outqualified by Liam Lawson, the driver he replaced at Red Bull, with the now Racing Bulls man finishing a place ahead in P14.

READ MORE: Verstappen clinches stunning pole position ahead of Norris and Piastri in Japanese GP Qualifying

However, following Carlos Sainz's three-place grid penalty, both Tsunoda and Lawson have been promoted up the order and will start in P14 and P13 respectively for Sunday's race.

Running a higher downforce set up than team mate and pole-winner Max Verstappen, Tsunoda conceded he was still getting to grips with the RB21.

“I think the warmup didn’t go as I wanted. I’m still learning,” he conceded when asked what had happened on his final lap of Qualifying.

“The warmup, how it ended up, I thought it was ok. I knew it was maybe going to be a bit compromised, but the penalty was pretty big.

“It’s a shame that I wasn’t able to extract the performance from the car. It was looking good from Q1 and it just felt that overall, everything got worse and worse throughout. A great shame.

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“The confidence in the car at least feels good now, it’s just that I wasn’t able to put it all together today. Very sad.”

Making his Red Bull debut at his home Grand Prix would bring undoubted pressure on Tsunoda's shoulders but, speaking to Sky Sports F1, the Japanese racer insisted he wasn't feeling it.

“Surprisingly, I feel ok in terms of pressure," he reflected. “The laps in Q2, the lap was probably the most pressured time out of the previous sessions.

"I felt it probably more last year than this year. This year, the mindset was probably more just to enjoy it and feel the car. At the same time, I had the pace from FP3, so I didn’t expect it to end up like this today.

READ MORE: Verstappen clinches stunning pole position ahead of Norris and Piastri in Japanese GP Qualifying

“It’s a shame, but at least the positive is that I’ve started to understand about the car. It’s quite difficult to operate this car properly. It’s more narrow than the VCARB, but at least I feel confidence in the car and I know what to do for the future, I guess.”

With the possibility of rain on the horizon for parts of Sunday’s race, Tsunoda acknowledged that “anything can happen” in those conditions, so he would “stay focused”.