F1 2025 Highlights Pole Position Advantage as Tsunoda Faces RB21 Struggles

The opening rounds of the 2025 Formula 1 season have revealed a clear trend — pole position is more crucial than ever. In all three races so far, the winner has started from the front, emphasizing the ongoing challenge of dirty air in modern F1 cars.

Despite the introduction of ground-effect regulations intended to reduce turbulence and promote overtaking, the aerodynamic issue has resurfaced as a major obstacle, especially on tight, high-downforce circuits.

Yuki Tsunoda’s debut with Red Bull Racing at the Japanese Grand Prix showed early promise. He clocked a time just 0.1 seconds behind Max Verstappen in the first practice session. However, his performance dropped significantly in qualifying and the race.

The RB21 presents unique challenges — especially in cornering, where front-rear balance issues have affected Tsunoda’s consistency. Verstappen, by contrast, has quickly adapted to the new machine, extracting optimal performance through setup stability and aggressive mid-corner rotation.

Tsunoda’s learning curve is about to steepen further. The upcoming Bahrain Grand Prix at the Hermann Tilke-designed circuit poses additional complexity, with its mix of slow and medium-speed corners, heavy braking zones, and variable camber shifts.

These traits diverge from the high-speed flow of the previous circuits and will test Tsunoda’s adaptability with the RB21. Red Bull engineers are expected to make setup adjustments to give the Japanese driver more confidence heading into Round 4 of the season.