F1 Today | Raikkonen’s son linked to Verstappen’s path as Tsunoda makes painful Red Bull admission

Tsunoda has opened up about the difficulties he experienced during his first and only season with Red Bull, describing 2025 as the toughest year of his Formula 1 career. The Japanese driver explained that the season taught him a great deal, but also revealed how difficult it became for him to recover from the pressures of each race weekend.

Tsunoda explained that he was normally able to reset himself between races by enjoying good food or spending time doing things he likes. However, particularly during the second half of the season, that became increasingly difficult. When he returned home after races, he began to feel extremely exhausted, something he was not used to experiencing.

The constant sequence of races, combined with the ups and downs of the season, also affected his ability to regain his energy. Tsunoda eventually realised that he was no longer enjoying his life or the situation he was in, while his enjoyment of driving in Formula 1 had also decreased compared with his first three seasons in the championship.

David Coulthard has compared Robin Raikkonen’s early development in motorsport with the approach taken by Jos Verstappen during Max Verstappen’s formative years. Robin is already making an impression in karting, with his family having made a significant commitment to his development and moved from Switzerland to Italy so that he can live close to a karting circuit and train regularly.

The former McLaren driver also highlighted the importance of Robin’s character as he continues to grow. While he described the 11-year-old as a successful and seemingly well-grounded youngster, Coulthard stressed that it is still too early to know how he will develop as he gets older. He also pointed out that strong results in karting do not automatically translate into success in cars, given the differences between karting machinery and single-seaters, particularly in terms of suspension, differentials and downforce.

Coulthard believes the biggest test will come as Robin gets older and has to deal with the inevitable setbacks that come with a career in motorsport. The former F1 driver explained that young drivers need to retain their focus, determination and talent while learning to cope with failure, which is far more common than success in racing. He used Lewis Hamilton’s career to illustrate the point, noting that even the seven-time world champion has suffered hundreds of defeats despite having won more Grands Prix than any other driver.