The 2025 F1 Miami GP delivered chaos from the start, with Yuki Tsunoda drawing early attention for failing to reduce speed in the pit lane. McLaren dominated the race with raw pace, while drama unfolded as Jack Doohan (Alpine) and Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) collided. Oliver Bearman (Haas) and Gabriel Bortoleto (Kick Sauber) both suffered engine energy failures, and a flurry of overtakes kept the action relentless throughout.
A difficult weekend for Red Bull in the pit lane
Heavy weather delayed Saturday’s Sprint on Saturday, at the F1 Miami GP, where Yuki Tsunoda finished ninth. His Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen received a 10-second penalty for an unsafe release in the pit lane, dropping him to 17th—the last classified finisher. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and Carlos Sainz (Williams) failed to finish, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc did not start.
However, Red Bull bounced back in Qualifying, Red Bull managed to stick till Q3, with Verstappen taking pole and Tsunoda securing P10, both advancing to Q3. That strong starting position set Red Bull up well for Sunday’s race, but Tsunoda’s progress took a hit when he failed to reduce speed in the pit lane, earning a five-second penalty. The setback was compounded by pressure from his former teammate Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls), who pushed him to the limit throughout a tense Miami Grand Prix.
“Certainly my old team mate didn’t make my life easier!” said Tsunoda. “[In the] last 10 laps he picked up pace quite a lot and I was pushing enough, and on top of it he came back. That was really tough, but I just got to go what I’ve got to do and I maximised my pace.”
“Obviously a bit unnecessarily from myself that made my life much more difficult with the five seconds.”
“I’m happy that I’m able to score points, but at the same time not happy with the pace I had, and I think as a team we struggled [on] overall pace, I think not just me, so [it’s] something that we have to look at.”
Progress with RB21’s speed
It is not the first time that the Japanese driver struggled to understand the RB21’s speed. Speaking to the media after Sunday’s 2025 F1 Miami GP race, Tsunoda gave an insight into his progress with the RB21.
“[The] pace itself was alright,” Tsunoda elaborated. “Williams were flying today, but at the same time I think we didn’t have good pace at all. I struggled from Qualifying – I just feel the car is not going forwards as I’m expecting to, and currently that’s the main limitation.
“To be honest it’s hard to explain what the issue is. I did what I can do in this race and that was my probably maximum as I can do for now. For sure we’ll have to look through it, for the driving style or whatever but, yeah, it’s tough.”
After the eventful weekend for Red Bull, Tsunoda is looking forward to improve his performance with the RB21 for future Grands Prix.
