Red Bull Racing driver Yuki Tsunoda wouldn’t have been satisfied with setting a lap time six-tenths off teammate Max Verstappen during qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix.
What he might not have expected is that 1:13.385 would only be good enough for Yuki Tsunoda to start 20th for Sunday’s race, a new low point for the Japanese driver since his promotion to race for Red Bull this season.
Tsunoda had to watch from the garage as Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar reached Q2 and Q3 respectively, while Max Verstappen will start from third on the grid behind the two McLaren drivers.
It puts Tsunoda in a delicate position as scoring points once again seems out of reach unless he produces his finest performance since joining Red Bull at the Japanese Grand Prix.
| RANK | DRIVER | TEAM | TIME |
| 1 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:11.546 |
| 2 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:11.755 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:11.848 |
| 4 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:11.848 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:12.045 |
| 6 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:12.111 |
| 7 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:12.131 |
| 8 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:12.199 |
| 9 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | 1:12.252 |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:12.284 |
Helmut Marko has confirmed internal discussions will take place about Tsunoda after his latest setback, and it won’t be long until his position within the team is being discussed.
Tsunoda’s contract runs until the end of the season, meaning every performance counts between now and Abu Dhabi.
It appears as though Red Bull are already starting to consider alternatives to the 25-year-old and one driver has stood out for team principal Christian Horner in recent weeks.
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Isack Hadjar now the ‘hottest candidate’ to replace Yuki Tsunoda at Red Bull
A report from F1 Insider has shared more details about what’s happening within the Red Bull team.
They point out that Verstappen is at a strategic disadvantage because McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari all have two drivers in the top seven for the Spanish Grand Prix.
There’s a strong chance the race in Barcelona will require two pit stops, meaning Red Bull could theoretically run Tsunoda as long as possible on his first stint to try and disrupt Verstappen’s rivals.
However, this would likely completely end his chances of sneaking into the points.
The report points out that Tsunoda’s gap to Verstappen is now the same as Lawson’s when he was driving for Red Bull.
They believe that discussions about Tsunoda’s future are now ‘ongoing’ and Hadjar has established himself as the ‘hottest candidate’ to take his seat.
However, the worry remains that Hadjar might end up being the latest driver in a long line of talented racers who simply can’t cope with matching Verstappen.
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Isack Hadjar continues to impress at Racing Bulls amid Red Bull talk
For the fifth time in Hadjar’s burgeoning Formula 1 career, the young Frenchman reached Q3 in Spain.
He’s established himself as the lead driver at Racing Bulls over Lawson and currently sits in the top 10 in the drivers’ championship.
Marko has been impressed by Hadjar but is downplaying how well the 20-year-old is doing to try and relieve some of the pressure on him.
Damon Hill says Hadjar has surprised everybody this season after the worst possible start to his F1 career in Australia.
Many fans would have been worried about Hadjar’s future after his formation lap crash in Melbourne, but he’s gone from strength to strength since that moment.
It shows how mentally strong he is and that will be crucial if he does end up alongside Verstappen at some point.
The earliest many would have expected that switch to happen would be at the end of the season, but nothing is out of the question when it comes to Red Bull.
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