Yuki Tsunoda recently expressed his satisfaction in silencing skeptics, seizing an early advantage in the intra-team duel at RB against Daniel Ricciardo.
Ricciardo’s stint at Red Bull’s affiliate team was widely viewed as a trial for a possible reunion with the main squad alongside Max Verstappen in 2025. However, Tsunoda, despite being less experienced, has outperformed his teammate in the initial four races of the season.
In his fourth season with Red Bull’s junior outfit, Tsunoda emphasized the importance of demonstrating his value to both his current team and potential suitors for the upcoming season.
Following his decisive victory over Nyck de Vries last year, which led to de Vries being ousted mid-season, Tsunoda has already established superiority over Ricciardo in the current campaign.
When confronted with the observation that he is defying expectations this season, Tsunoda responded with a grin, relishing the opportunity to prove his detractors wrong once again.
“You know, I love to prove some people wrong,” Tsunoda stated. “It’s always the story. It’s the same as Nyck, people were saying Nyck can be a first driver. I got used to it, you know, like it’s nothing different and I’m very happy that I’m able to prove people wrong.
“I just keep what I’m doing and in the end, that’s what I have to do to be a good performer and driver in Formula 1 for all and that’s what the top drivers have. I mean, I just keep the people surprised.”
After the interview, racing driver and Channel 4 pundit Billy Monger commented on Tsunoda’s improved performance this season, noting that he has elevated his game.
Initially anticipating Ricciardo to dominate against the Japanese driver, Monger admitted to being pleasantly surprised by Tsunoda’s performance in the RB garage.
“I mean, regardless of so much experience in Formula 1, I think people were almost thinking it could be an easy matchup for him,” Monger stated.
“He took a year out and they thought, you know, Yuki is not the potentially the quickest driver on the grid, but I feel like Yuki has risen to the occasion of having a teammate as experienced and as successful as Daniel Ricciardo, and Daniel’s maybe just lacking that little bit of one lap performance in particular that he used to have.”
