Yuki Tsunoda Japanese F1 racer with short fuse gets his big chance

TOKYO – Yuki Tsunoda stands just 1.59m, but the driver who has joined Formula One world champion Max Verstappen at Red Bull is a strong personality who has tried to tame his temper to get his big chance.

The 24-year-old will make his debut for Red Bull at his home Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka next weekend, after the team ruthlessly axed the underperforming Liam Lawson.

Tsunoda was promoted on March 27 from junior team Racing Bulls (RB) after outshining the New Zealander in the first two races of the season.

He swopped places with Lawson, 23, who returned to the team he was at last season.

The Japanese has had to wait patiently for this moment, having made his F1 season debut in 2021 as a baby-faced rookie renowned for having a short fuse.

“His progress last year, and more recently from the very start of 2025, has been nothing less than sensational,” RB team principal Laurent Mekies said after Tsunoda’s promotion to Red Bull was confirmed following days of speculation.

Tsunoda was 12th in the season opener at Melbourne and only finished out of the points last weekend at Shanghai because of RB’s flawed two-stop pit strategy.

In contrast, Lawson has endured a miserable start to the season. He was knocked out at the first stage of all three qualifying sessions and has yet to score a point.

The spotlight is now on Tsunoda, who started racing karts at the age of four in his native Kanagawa, outside Tokyo.

He has been backed by Honda since joining their junior drivers’ programme and making his debut in Japan’s F4 championship in 2016.

He had stints in F3 and Euroformula Open championships before joining British team Carlin in F2 in 2020.

He was fast-tracked into the elite after spending just