Yuki Tsunoda has struggled to get to grips with the Red Bull this season, with the Japanese driver failing to score a single point in the first eight races of the season
Yuki Tsunoda has spoken out about the “unfair” comparisons being made between him and Max Verstappen, highlighting that Red Bull haven’t provided them with “exactly the same car”. Since replacing Liam Lawson in the team’s second seat, Tsunoda has faced a tough time, with his Kiwi predecessor himself unable to come close to Verstappen’s performance in the season’s opening races.
A succession of drivers have found it difficult to match Verstappen’s pace in what is considered one of the quickest cars on the circuit. Lawson was swiftly axed and returned to Racing Bulls, the sister team, where he has since accumulated over double the points Tsunoda has managed since their switch.
For Tsunoda, the past six race weekends have been particularly dismal, failing to earn any points or finish above 12th place, contributing to Red Bull’s current fourth position in the constructors’ championship.
Remarkably, Verstappen has secured an astonishing 185 out of the 192 points for Red Bull this season. However, ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Tsunoda turned heads by implying that the team might have given him a faster car.
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He said: “[Verstappen] always extracts performance consistently every session, every Grand Prix, it’s very impressive. It’s not something that you can do very easily, and it seems like he can. It looks like he does it very easily.”
“But, at the same time, I just don’t think it’s fair to compare us and I don’t want to directly compare with him because he’s been here nine years in that car and I’m just jumping into the car.
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“And also, I’m not… well, let’s see if I get exactly the same car. Until that point, I can’t compare directly. Until then, I’m just focused on myself because I know clearly what I can improve and I just progress in my own way, step by step.”
With Tsunoda’s contract up for renewal at the end of the season, he faces a battle to secure his future in Formula 1 and retain one of the most sought-after seats. Speculation is rife that Red Bull may consider a driver switch, as Isack Hadjar has been turning heads with his performances for Racing Bulls.
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In the midst of these discussions, Verstappen has committed to Red Bull until the 2026 season, despite rumours linking him to Mercedes, especially after Christian Horner’s exit. “I think it’s time to basically stop all the rumours, and for me it’s always been quite clear that I was staying anyway,” he said.
“I think that was also the general feeling in the team anyway, because we were always in discussions about what we could do with the car. And when you’re not interested in staying, then you also stop talking about these kind of things – and I never did.”