Albeit with the caveat that he is not driving the same Red Bull RB21 as Max Verstappen, Yuki Tsunoda’s recent form is “not satisfactory”.

That verdict comes from Red Bull senior advisor and driver programme boss Helmut Marko, who explained the reason Tsunoda is using the old-spec RB21 is because he “destroyed” the upgraded one he was given at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, as Red Bull work to get him back on the same spec as Verstappen in time for Canada.

Yuki Tsunoda: Can he turn Red Bull career around?

Tsunoda received his long-awaited Red Bull call-up in time for his home race – the Japanese Grand Prix – which served as Round 3 of the season, with Red Bull making the call to send Liam Lawson back to Racing Bulls and bring Tsunoda the other way as his replacement.

However, progress has also been slow for Tsunoda, who has scored just seven points in his seven race weekends with the senior team, and just a single point in the last three rounds, courtesy of a P10 result at Imola, where reigning four-time World Champion team-mate Max Verstappen took the win.

Tsunoda crashed out heavily in qualifying at Imola, and Marko revealed that the effects are still being felt as Red Bull work to re-upgrade Tsunoda’s RB21 in time for the Canadian Grand Prix, at which point they “assume that it will work”.

Writing in his latest Speedweek column, Marko stated: “Tsunoda has scored one championship point in the three most recent races, which is obviously not satisfactory.

“Unfortunately, he destroyed the new underbody and the other new parts in the crash at Imola, which is why he is not currently driving with the same set-up as Max.

“This is also due to the time constraints, because a new underfloor needs at least three weeks to be ready. They are working flat out so that he has the new parts on the car in Canada, and we assume that it will work.”

F1 2025 head-to-head standings

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

With Verstappen having supplied 137 of Red Bull’s 144 points so far this season, the lack of a well-scoring second driver means the team sit P4 in the current Constructors’ standings, 218 points behind runaway leaders McLaren.

The gap is so large that according to Marko, Red Bull has already given up on winning the Constructors’ title this year, which earned Tsunoda another unwanted mention.

“In the Constructors’ Championship, we have already written off the overall victory, we no longer have a chance there,” Marko conceded.

“Of course, this also has to do with the second driver, because Yuki Tsunoda is only slowly getting into gear.”

While Verstappen is under Red Bull contract until the end of 2028, Tsunoda is very much driving for his future with the team and in Formula 1.

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