Yuki Tsunoda admits Red Bull RB21 car “harder to handle than in the simulator” – F1 Japanese GP. Yuki Tsunoda set the sixth fastest time in his debut with the RB21 during Free Practice 1.

A good debut. Of course, it should be taken with caution—only two free practice sessions of the Japanese Grand Prix have taken place—but Yuki Tsunoda’s first feedback as a Red Bull Racing driver has been encouraging.

In the first practice session at Suzuka, the former Racing Bulls driver posted the sixth-fastest time overall, just 107 thousandths off the time of his new teammate Max Verstappen, who finished the session in fifth place.

“Free Practice 1 went better than I expected. It was a good start from my side. While in Free Practice 2 I didn’t set a timed lap,” said the Japanese driver at the end of the day.

Over the course of today’s two sessions, Yuki Tsunoda finally got the chance to familiarize himself with the real RB21 after having already tested its virtual version in the Milton Keynes simulator before traveling to his home country.

While after driving the simulator version, Yuki Tsunoda had remarked that the car didn’t seem all that difficult, the real one gave different and more complex feedback.

“I think there’s a lot of work to do. Maybe we struggled a bit. We need to look at the Free Practice 2 data to try to understand more. But for now, everything went fine.” – the Japanese driver pointed out – “The RB21 is a bit different from its virtual version in the simulator. That’s what I felt, to be honest. Maybe especially in terms of the feeling with the car. But yes, that aspect is always a bit different in the real car. It was more extreme. The feeling is tougher compared to the simulator.” – the former Racing Bulls driver concluded at the end of the second free practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka.