Yuki in search of Glory
Posted on April 4, 2025
Liam back to Basics
Japan’s Suzuka legendary
THIS WEEK POSES THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE yet faced by 24-year-old Yuki Tsunoda, leap-frogged over the luckless New Zealand hopeful Liam Lawson after just the second race of the 2025 F1 season.
Fact is, if young Yuki can finish in the top 10 at his home race this weekend, that will set the series alight.
While Liam, the promising young Kiwi, is undeniably shattered after his performance in the No 2 Red Bull racing machine, crashing out in a wet Australia and finishing 16th at the Chinese Grand Prix, now has much more on his mind than he ever thought possible.
“It was not what I expected,” Liam
Liam now has little option but to clearly demonstrate he has what it takes to rebound from his demotion. And the only practical way to achieve that is to deal with what he has been dealt and collect championship points for the once mighty Red Bull team.
Not too much Red about this Bull
And, while Liam ponders what could have been, as he steps back into his old ride this week, pondering how it went so wrong in Australia and China!
Yuki has it all mapped out in his head. He needs first to keep on the wonderful Suzuka circuit – the home track that is so very familiar to him – while piloting what appears to be a very difficult car to manage, according to the recent efforts of both Sergio Perez and Liam!
And, most important of all. Yuki – the pride of his sports loving country folk -must bring home the RB21 undamaged, after 53 grueling laps during the race of his life in the Japan Grand Prix.
But his new ride, pictured above, sure does look the goods!
Yuki and his old team (mate)
Speaking this week at a function hosted by Honda – his major backer – the Japanese driver said making his Red Bull debut in his home country “feels like fate”.
“To be honest, I never expected to be racing for Red Bull at the Japanese Grand Prix,” he said. “This is the final year of Red Bull and Honda’s partnership, so getting to race in Suzuka as a Red Bull Racing driver feels like fate. Everything has fallen into place in just the right way for me to be standing here today.
“There aren’t many moments in life where you face this kind of extreme pressure and an opportunity as big as this, so I can only imagine that it’s going to be an incredibly thrilling race.“
Actually, it’s quite remarkable the diminutive Yuki, at 1.59m – still the shortest guy in F1 since he began in 2021, and weighing in at just 54kg – can even manhandle a 795kg F1 machine at frightening speeds, often above 300km/h!
But he’s been doing so handsomely since his promotion from Formula 2 to F1 Scuderia AlphaTauri, scoring points on debut at the Bahrain Grand Prix. That maiden season often saw him finishing in the points, including a career-best of 4th place at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Scoring points this weekend in his first race for Red Bull Racing – especially at his home Grand Prix in Japan – would be a massive achievement for Yuki Tsunoda.
The pressure maybe exceptionally high. But young Yuki Tsunoda seems ready, willing and able to accept the challenge.
I sincerely hope so.
All power to him!
Suzuka among toughest on F1 calendar
The Suzuka track is one of the most spectacular and demanding on the diverse F1 calendar, and the only circuit of the season with a figure-of-eight layout.
Located in the Mie Prefecture in central Japan, along the Pacific Ocean, it’s also home to the Suzuka International Racing Course, the venue owned by Honda whose factory is one of its main sites.
The 5.807 kilometres track is demanding for both car and driver, made up of 18 corners, some of which are part of motor racing history, such as the Esses in the first sector and the legendary 130R.
A large part of the track has been resurfaced, from the exit of the last chicane to the end of the first sector. Pirelli rates it as “an important section, as it features medium and high-speed corners, some of them long ones, like the first two after the start-finish straight, where tyres come under a lot of stress”.
However, Suzuka has remained pretty much unchanged over the years, although kerbs and grass run-off areas have been improved for 2025.
Max hoping for a repeat
The C1, the hardest compound of the Pirelli 2025 range, makes its season debut at Japan as the venue is seriously tough on tyres.
It’ll be interesting to see how teams manage their tyre allocation over the course of the three free practice sessions, as they try to establish the best-set up, with a focus on race strategy.
Last year’s race was won by Max Verstappen, followed home by his recently-dumped Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, followed home by then Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz.
The race was red flagged following a collision between Alex Albon and Daniel Ricciardo, with seven drivers changing compounds for the restart.
This year teams will wait to see what influence the newly surfaced part of the track might have, as well as what effect the expected low temperatures.
Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, Japan
The land of cherry blossom, known in Japanese as “Sakura,” has hosted 40 F1 World Championship Grands Prix to date.
The first was held in 1976 and a total of three different circuits have been home to races. In 1994 and 1995, the Aida circuit hosted what was known as the Pacific Grand Prix.
Of the 38 editions of the actual Japanese Grand Prix, four of them (1976, 1977, 2007 and 2008) were run at Fuji, with the remaining 34 run at Suzuka – the first in 1987.
Michael Schumaker tops List in Japan
The extraordinary Michael Schumacher has the best record in Japan. The seven-time world champion took six wins at Suzuka – one with Benetton, the rest with Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton, who shares Schumacher’s record for the number of world titles, is second on the Japanese list, with five wins, one at Fuji and four at Suzuka.
Of the teams, McLaren tops the chart with nine wins, followed by Ferrari and Red Bull, equal second with seven.
Michael Schumacher also heads the list for pole positions with eight and Ferrari is the most successful team in this regard with ten.
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Race Schedule
Perth WA Time
Japanese Grand Prix
Suzuka International Racing Course | 04 – 06 April
P1 Friday 4th April 10:30
P2 Friday 4th April 14:00
P3 Saturday 5th April 10:30
Qualifying
Saturday 5th April 14:00
RACE
Sunday 6th April 13:00
NEXT EVENT
Bahrain Grand Prix
Bahrain International Circuit | 11 – 13 April
EDITED by AC
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