Jun.5 (GMM) The jury is out as to just how long Yuki Tsunoda will survive alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing.
When a seat vacancy arose with Sergio Perez’s ousting at the end of last year, the Japanese was overlooked by the team in favour of the much less experienced Liam Lawson – whose performance was so bad he was dropped after just two races.
Red Bull’s only real next option was Tsunoda, whose main backer Honda is departing for Aston Martin at the end of this season.
There have been signs that the 25-year-old has coped better than Perez or Lawson, but also clear signs that Red Bull cannot return to contention for future constructors’ world championships without a faster driver.
When asked about Tsunoda’s struggles, technical director Pierre Wache said: “We didn’t succeed with Checo, we didn’t succeed with Liam. With Yuki, we’re still trying.”
Team advisor Dr Helmut Marko added: “We need a stable guy who goes his own way and doesn’t try to beat Max. Everyone else makes that mistake.”
The Austrian admits he was impressed with Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg in Barcelona, who finished P5. “When we took on Perez, Hulkenberg was also in the conversation,” Marko revealed. “But then Perez won in Bahrain.”
Both Red Bull team boss Christian Horner and Marko have raved about current championship leader Oscar Piastri, but the Australian is firmly under contract to McLaren.
“Oscar learns very quickly, is a cool analyst by nature, but he’s not yet at Max’s level,” Marko noted.
“Tsunoda is often only a tenth of a second behind in practice, and then Max is way ahead in qualifying,” he explained. “We often manage to get the car right in qualifying and Max manages to adapt immediately.
“Yuki would have to do more laps, but there aren’t any. But we must not overlook the fact that our cars are often disastrous on Fridays.”
Some believe Red Bull’s latest rookie Isack Hadjar is being lined up for a promotion from Racing Bulls to the main team sooner rather than later.
When asked in Barcelona, Horner squirmed in his seat.
“I think I’m going to take a leaf out of Flavio (Briatore)’s book and say I don’t want to answer that,” he smiled.
“Look, it’s early days for Yuki. He’s still settling in. He’s been in Q3, scored points, he’s scored points from the pitlane. He’s had a few incidents as well, so he has a long way to go.
“We’ve got plenty of time on our side to decide what to do.”
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