Helmut Marko says Yuki Tsunoda is doing something Red Bull haven’t seen ‘for years’ next to Max Verstappen

Yuki Tsunoda was drafted into Red Bull after Liam Lawson completed two races and failed to finish both inside the points.

The Japanese driver was seen as a safe pair of hands to help Red Bull in their Constructors’ Championship, but after seven races, he has only scored 10 points.

Compared to Max Verstappen’s total of 137 points and McLaren now on 362 points in total, it’s easy to see why the team has effectively written off their chances and decided to focus on the Drivers’ crown.

Emerson Fittipaldi thinks Verstappen is outperforming his car, comparing him to Ayrton Senna after praising his skills as a driver.

But team advisor Helmut Marko thinks Tsunoda has been doing one thing that other teammates have struggled with so far when speaking on the Inside Line podcast.

Yuki Tsunoda now within tenths of Max Verstappen in qualifying

Tsunoda had a difficult recent triple header after a heavy crash in Imola, then failing to score points in both Monaco and Spain after difficult races in the RB21.

Despite these missed opportunities, Marko believes Tsunoda has delivered on one thing that Red Bull wanted him to do that Sergio Perez struggled with in 2024.

“Yuki started well. He didn’t have the success what we expected from him. But on Friday, he’s always within a tenth or two-tenths of Max, which we didn’t have for years. So we just, we have to, Yuki has to translate his speed, which is there, into points,” said Marko.

“He has the talent, and he has also improved in his personal approach. We all know how impulsive Yuki can be on the radio. He learned out of it, and he’s a quick driver.

“Yuki just has to get his act together, not to try to beat Max, which is impossible. But I think he has accepted that, and I hope he will. He will make a lot of points.”

What is Yuki Tsunoda’s qualifying gap to Max Verstappen?

The gulf in lap time between Tsunoda and Verstappen has been one of the key stats in the last seven races.

Tsunoda was briefly worse than Lawson after his struggle in the Miami Sprint race qualifying, but he managed to improve that with qualifying performances in Monaco and Spain.

Even so, it appears there is still a chunk of lap time that is still missing from the Japanese driver compared to Verstappen.

Marko’s comments are encouraging for the rest of the season, but they will want to see Tsunoda pick up better results in the European swing of the season.