“I’m sure there is room”: Yuki Tsunoda hopeful of reaching Max Verstappen's level of handling the RB21

Yuki Tsunoda secured the final point in the Miami Grand Prix, finishing 10th for Red Bull Racing despite a five-second pit-lane speeding penalty. Yet the 24-year-old Japanese driver remains optimistic about closing the gap with teammate Max Verstappen, who finished fourth.

Red Bull Racing's Miami weekend began with Sprint Qualifying hiccups, where Tsunoda failed to progress past SQ1 after a late-pit exit traffic jam. However, he managed to finish sixth while Verstappen took a ten-second penalty for an unsafe pit release and finished 17th under a safety car. Meanwhile, Verstappen started the Miami Grand Prix from the pole while Tsunoda managed to qualify in 10th, before finishing six positions apart.

While they were separated by several places, Tsunoda was quick to acknowledge that overcoming the pace gap was achievable.

"If you look at Max's pace, he started P1 and finished P4, and the pace itself is not massively different. At the same time, I am sure that Max is already at the limit the car can handle, but for me, it is still four races, and I am sure there is room I can unlock for myself," Tsunoda told Viaplay (via GP Blog).

Yuki Tsunoda picked up a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane during Sunday's Grand Prix, ultimately costing him a potential top-eight finish. Despite that, he extracted strong pace from his #22 RB21 and got his second top-ten finish of the 2025 Formula 1 season.

Meanwhile, Verstappen led from the pole but struggled with tire degradation and lacked the race-long pace to catch up to George Russell and the McLarens. Red Bull's balance issues in the RB21s were once again exposed under race conditions. Though Verstappen had access to a new floor designed to improve load and stability, the Dutchman still fell behind in the race.

Yuki Tsunoda's No. 22 RB21 in the garage at Jeddah Corniche. Source: Getty

A notable distinction between the two drivers in Miami was the car specifications. Verstappen received an updated floor, originally intended for Imola, while Tsunoda did not. Red Bull's Chief Engineer, Paul Monaghan, explained to F1TV that the change was subtle, focusing on revised floor fences to improve local downforce.

"We have managed to move the forward fences just a little bit, which is a CFD-based optimization proved out in the tunnel, It's a small improvement… Floor edge wing, that's an optimization, few more grams of load or kilos of load and off we go... It's subtle, but the load's there," said Monaghan.

As a result of production constraints, Verstappen was the only recipient of the floor update. Tsunoda, while supportive of the team's direction, saw encouraging signs of parity without the improvements.

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Yuki Tsunoda leans on feedback as Red Bull chases consistency

Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner with Yuki Tsunoda and Max Verstappen. Source: Getty

While Max Verstappen's updated RB21 floor made its debut on his car, Yuki Tsunoda acknowledged that broader development remains a team effort and promised to keep feeding data into the R&D cycle. Following the car updates introduced this weekend, Tsunoda expressed his belief in unlocking more performance.

"I'll just keep focusing on that. At least in Miami, we struggle a lot like Bahrain, as a team, we have to improve, and I try to help as much as possible with my feedback for the development," he said.

With a full update package due at Imola, Red Bull Racing is working to ensure both drivers are comfortable with the RB21. The early season has exposed challenges in creating a wide enough operating window for both Verstappen and Tsunoda, especially on tracks with changing grip conditions like Miami and Bahrain.

Tsunoda's ability to translate feedback into setup gains will be crucial when the full suite of Imola upgrades arrives. Heading into Imola, Red Bull plans to deliver a more complete version of the floor update, along with other minor aerodynamic tweaks to improve the car's mid-corner balance and overall driveability.

For Yuki Tsunoda, the opportunity lies in syncing his driving style with the RB21 and unlocking those extra tenths as the 2025 Formula 1 title race intensifies.