Yuki Tsunoda says he is targeting a pod😼ium finish in next week’s Japanese Grand Prix after securing a plum Formula 1 seat at Red Bull ahead of his home race.

After spending just over four seasons at AlphaTauri/168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Racing Bulls and impressing his bosses with his speed and new-found maturity, Tsunoda has been promoted to Red Bull alongside four-time F1 champion 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Max Verstappen.

The news was made official on Thursday, just a few days after the team’s original 2025 signing 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Liam Lawson qualified 𝓡last in Shanghai and made limited progress in the race.

The jury is out on how Tsunoda will fare at Red Bull, given how tough the RB21 is to drive.

The 24-year-old sampled the caꦡr in a simulator this week to prepare for his debut and also drove Red Bull’s 2024 challenger in Abu Dhabi last year, but he will not have the luxury of a pre-season test to prepare for his debut with one of the most successful grand prix teams in history.

Speaking in his first publi𒊎c appearance since being announced 𒈔at Red Bull, Tsunoda admitted that it will take time for him to get used to his new surroundings, but he is nevertheless keen to start the partnership on a high at Suzuka.

"I don't want to get my expectations too high, but first and foremost, I want to g𓄧et on the podium at the Japanese GP,” Tsunoda was quoted by .

"However, I don't think it will go so well from the start, so I need to understand the car first, and gradually check how it 💙compares to the Racing Bulls' car from FP1. Once I can naturally enjoy driving it, I think the results will follow. If that result is a podium, that would be fanta🌠stic."

Tsunoda made those comments at a🔴 special event at the famous Honda Aoyama Building in Tokyo, where he was joined by hundreds of spectators.

The Japanese racer admitted that he was sꦇurprised to land the seat at Red Bull, having origi🧸nally been overlooked for the drive at the end of last year in favour of his then-teammate Lawson.

“I never though🐈t I'd be racing for Red Bull at the Japan▨ese GP,” he said.

"I'm happy, but I also feel like the tea꧃m is changing.

"But when you think about it, it's not realistic to suddenly be racing [with Red Bu𒁃ll] at the Japanese GP. Whe𒈔n I first heard about it, I thought, 'Wow, this is going to be interesting.'

"I don't think I've ever been in a more pressured and challenging situation in my liꩲfe, so I think it's going to be an incredi🅷bly exciting race."

The RB21 has already developed a r💞eputation for being a tricky car to drive, with both Verstappen and Lawson complaining about its ch▨aracteristics in the opening two rounds of the season.

Tsunoda didn’𝓀t find his first experience of the RB21 in a simulator ‘strange’, but admitted that he would like to make some changes to the car to make it more suitable to his dri✱ving style.

"ജOn the simulator, I didn't feel it was such a challenging car,” he explained. “Of course, I had the impression that it was a car that was prone to turning at the front, as people often say, but in terms of being tricky, it didn't feel that strange. That is, on the simulator, after all.

"Of course, I think the type of car I want to make is different from Max (Verstap💧pen), so I want to make a good car myself, understand it, and gradually start running it."