“He is a very nice guy”: When Yuki Tsunoda revealed what endeared him to Max Verstappen

Yuki Tsunoda is Max Verstappen's most recent teammate at Red Bull, but before becoming allies under one team name, the pair had spent some moments off the track. The Japanese racer revealed in 2023 how the F1 sphere perceives the Dutchman differently from what he is, as he shared an incident that happened between the two, which led him to showcase his gratitude towards Verstappen.

Tsunoda made his debut in 2021 and has been a part of Red Bull's pool of drivers since then. This meant that the drivers from the sister team often spent time with each other.

The Japanese driver recalled one such instance when he was travelling with Max Verstappen on his private jet. The reigning champion made him try a beverage and revealed how he was a nice guy, contrary to his perception, as Tsunoda said (via ESPN):

"[Max] Verstappen is not as he appears, he is a very nice guy: it was he who made me discover some excellent gin-tonic on his private jet. I will forever thank him for this."

The pair then drove for different teams and now compete under the Red Bull banner in 2025.

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Yuki Tsunoda is optimistic about reducing his performance delta to Max Verstappen

Red Bull's Max Verstappen (L) and Yuki Tsunoda (R) at the 2025 F1 Grand Prix of Hungary race weekend - Source: Getty

While both Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda have contributed to Red Bull's points tally this year, the 27-year-old has scored the overwhelming majority of the markers. He has claimed 187 points in comparison to Tsunoda's mere seven points for the squadron.

Moreover, he encountered a pointless streak after the Emilia Romagna GP, where Verstappen has remained the squad's sole point scorer. Despite this, at the Hungarian GP, the Sagamihara-born driver cut down his deficit in qualifying delta to Verstappen.

This was accompanied by his RB21 receiving upgrades that he had long been kept away from after his shunt at the qualifying for the Emilia Romagna GP. Reflecting on his pace, Tsunoda said (via F1's official website):

"Looking back on the season so far, I can feel pretty positive, we've made progress, especially since the new floor upgrades were brought to Spa... The gap with Max continues to close, it may not feel like we are getting there but on paper we are only one tenth off his pace. I'm not sure many other drivers could get as close to him.

"I am heading straight to the factory tomorrow to go into the [simulator]. We need to investigate where we went wrong and put in some hard work over the summer break so that we don't start the next half of the season how we finished this one. It's frustrating but we will stay positive and bounce back stronger."

Tsunoda is Verstappen's seventh different teammate in F1, and his third different colleague in the last 12 months.