Yuki Tsunoda’s debut as a Red Bull driver got off to a tremendous start, as he finished right behind new teammate Max Verstappen in Friday’s first practice session at the Japanese Grand Prix. As Tsunoda stated during Thursday’s FIA Press Conference,

Yuki Tsunoda's performance and confidence in Japan was a big step forward from where Liam Lawson was with Red Bull

There is only so much you can extrapolate from one-and-a-bit practice sessions on a day when the only thing really catching fire was the grass around the Suzuka circuit. But it is fair to say that Yuki Tsunoda’s first day in a Red Bull was a qualified success.