Yuki Tsunoda came into the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend with confidence and a bold claim—he believed he could one day beat his superstar teammate Max Verstappen.
But by the end of Friday’s second practice session, the talk was overshadowed by twisted metal and a red flag.
A Rocky Start with Red Bull
Tsunoda is still settling into his new role at Red Bull Racing after replacing Liam Lawson just two races into the season.
Though he’s had more promising results than Lawson—finishing 12th at Suzuka and 9th in Bahrain—he hasn’t exactly shaken up the grid or mounted a serious challenge to Verstappen just yet.
This weekend in Jeddah marked only his third race with the team, but it quickly turned into a forgettable one when he crashed during FP2.
The Crash That Brought Practice to a Halt
The 24-year-old Japanese driver misjudged the tricky final corner at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, clipping the inside wall on entry.
That tiny mistake had big consequences—his front-left tire came loose, and moments later his RB21 slammed into the wall on the exit.
While Tsunoda walked away unscathed—thankfully, since the crash was at low speed—his car wasn’t nearly as lucky.
The wreck left Red Bull with major repairs and scattered debris all over the track, leading to the session being red-flagged and ultimately not restarted.
The Numbers Before the Wall
Before the crash, Tsunoda had managed the seventh-fastest time of the session.
Lando Norris, in his McLaren, led the time sheets, while Verstappen clocked in third—about three-tenths behind Norris but comfortably ahead of Tsunoda by four-tenths of a second.
Despite the gap, Tsunoda was showing some promise in his early laps.
But as we’ve seen time and again in Formula 1, it only takes one misstep to turn a good session into a disaster.
“I Could Beat Max” — A Claim That Raised Eyebrows
Just ahead of the Jeddah race weekend, Tsunoda made headlines by telling RacingNews365 that he believes he can eventually beat Max Verstappen, Red Bull’s four-time world champion.
He admitted he’s still adjusting to the car after years with the VCARB team (formerly AlphaTauri), but remains hopeful.
“I know myself that I can’t beat him straight away,” Tsunoda said.
“But I’m just trying to build a good baseline and wait for the moment I can be in the best shape.”
Confident words from the young driver—but after Friday’s crash, it’s clear there’s still a long road ahead before he’s ready to challenge Verstappen head-on.
Red Bull Chasing McLaren as Season Heats Up
Red Bull as a team isn’t exactly where they’d hoped to be this season.
McLaren has taken an early lead in the constructors’ standings, and Lando Norris is sitting pretty at the top of the drivers’ leaderboard.
Verstappen, while still performing strongly, is eight points behind Norris and in third overall.
Unless Red Bull can sort out their car’s performance and development in the coming races, Verstappen’s dream of matching a fifth consecutive title may slowly start to fade.
As for Tsunoda, he’s got talent and ambition—but now, more than ever, he needs consistency and control if he’s going to back up his bold claims.