Returning F1 driver shares first impressions on maligned 2026 cars

Yuki Tsunoda has given his verdict on the current F1 era after sampling the new cars for the first time.

21 Aug 2026

Tsunoda has had his first real-world taste of the new generation F1 cars
© XPB Images

Yuki Tsunoda has offered his thoughts on the new era of Formula 1 machinery after getting his first taste of the cars on Friday at the Dutch Grand Prix.

The Japanese F1 veteran returned to action with Racing Bulls this weekend as part of a driver shuffle following an injury to Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar. As a result, Liam Lawson was promoted back to the front-running team, while Tsunoda filled the seat left vacant by the New Zealander.

Having escaped the first phase of sprint qualifying, Tsunoda fell narrowly short of a top 10 berth, qualifying in 12th place.

Tsunoda will partner Arvid Lindblad for the weekend

"I remember, it was very early stages, so it's a bit different, so maybe it's not fair to say it, but most of the drivers were struggling a little bit with their balance and the brake performance and the amount of downforce that these cars lost compared to last year," he said. "So I needed to quickly adapt.

"I've driven last year's car, which is probably one of the fastest cars in history. I enjoy so much with the TPCs [testing of previous cars].

But going to this car, it feels a lot different, especially in high-speed corners. At this kind of traditional track where there's not much room in the runoff areas, you want to gradually build up.

"But I've enjoyed this process. My main objective is tomorrow in qualifying. So far, I think I'm able to build up session by session pretty well. I'm excited for the long run tomorrow; that's what I need for all of the data before qualifying and the race."

Tsunoda back behind the wheel of a Red Bull

Prior to losing his Red Bull seat at the end of last year, Tsunoda had been a regular on the grid for five years, spending the for of these campaigns with the team with which he has made his return.

"It's been an interesting day," said Tsunoda. "Normally you'd sort of improve through quali, and we started SQ1 quite strong, and then we didn't make the same step that everybody else did.

"So, obviously, we'll look into it. There's a lot obviously to learn today, but so far, honestly, I feel quite good in the car. I was honestly feeling okay through quali. I thought we'd get through, so it's a shame."