Yuki Tsunoda needs to deliver at the Canadian Grand Prix. Red Bull haven’t been overly critical in the public domain, but they can’t be happy with what they’ve seen recently.
Tsunoda made a reasonable start after replacing Liam Lawson at round three in Japan. He scored points in three of his first five weekends, with the highlight a P6 in the Miami Sprint.
That was supposed to be a platform for the Racing Bulls graduate to start fighting with the frontrunners. But it’s hard to dispute Juan Pablo Montoya’s argument that Tsunoda is getting ‘worse and worse’.
Tsunoda was eliminated in Q2 at the Monaco GP and then qualified last in Spain – a galling throwback to Lawson’s historically brief stint in the car. He finished the two races 17th and 12th respectively.
A report this week claimed that Red Bull are preparing to let Tsunoda go entirely at the end of the season. The 25-year-old is approaching the end of his contract.
Alex Albon thinks he’d succeed if he returned to Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen
One driver who certainly has sympathy for Tsunoda is Alex Albon. He too joined the squad mid-season, replacing Pierre Gasly in 2019.
But he also struggled to get anywhere close to Max Verstappen, culminating in his exit at the end of 2020. Albon has previously spoken about Red Bull’s unique handling characteristics, tailored to the preferences of their superstar driver.
He told The Race that Tsunoda is having trouble because it doesn’t feel ‘natural’. But he also suggested that, with 113 races under his belt, he would now be able to cope.
“Obviously, I can speak with experience,” Albon, who hasn’t won a Grand Prix but has scored two podiums, said. “I struggled with it.
“I think with the experience I have now, I’d be able to get around it, but it’s not something that feels natural to most drivers I think, and that’s what you’re seeing now.”
Yuki Tsunoda had a convenient excuse for his Red Bull troubles – now it’s gone
Speaking before the Canadian GP, Helmut Marko set a clear objective for Tsunoda – ‘score points’. The bar for the second driver has been lowered after a cycle of underperformance.
Indeed, Marko has already accepted that Red Bull won’t win the constructors’ title this year. Their priority is helping Verstappen retain the drivers’ crown, but even that looks unlikely at present.
After a heavy crash in qualifying at Imola, Tsunoda was running with an older spec at the last two events. That cost him multiple tenths of a second.
But he’ll once again be driving the same car as Verstappen in Montreal. Thus, a key ‘excuse’ has been removed.
