After a rough stretch, Red Bull boss Christian Horner revealed that the team is using a different approach with driver Yuki Tsunoda.
Tsunoda qualified in 12th for the British Grand Prix – getting into Q2 and avoiding another bottom-of-the-grid start.
Despite finishing close to a points-scoring position, Tsunoda said he suffered from a power issue that kept him from getting a top-10 spot.
Horner had explained what went wrong with the car and offered his thoughts on the Japanese driver’s performance.
“He was unlucky because he said he ran out of what we refer to as e-boost, so electrical power at the end of the lap, which cost him about a tenth,” Horner told the media after the session.
“And with the field so tight, that was probably the difference between Q3 or not today. And so, actually, I think he’s driven pretty decently so far this weekend.”
At the Austrian Grand Prix, he failed to get out of Q1 and started the race in P18. Tsunoda finished the race in P16 – the lowest of the drivers who finished the race.
During the race, he was hit with a penalty after causing a collision and struggled to make his way up the grid at all.
Performances like Austria have become the norm for Tsunoda – who hasn’t scored a point in his last four races.
In response to the big difference between Max Verstappen and Tsunoda’s performances, Red Bull is shifting its approach.
“We’re trying a very different approach with him to try and support him, to get the best out of the car with perhaps a slightly different set-up to that of Max,” Horner explained.
“I think I’ve just been talking to Eddie Irvine, and it sounded so reminiscent for what he was experiencing with Michael Schumacher of Ferrari in the mid-’90s.
“These great and exceptional drivers can drive a car very focused around a super-strong front end of course, there’s very few that can achieve and deliver that. And so, of course, we’re trying to take a different route with Yuki just to calm things down for him.”
Tsunoda isn’t the first of Verstappen’s teammates to struggle in the Red Bull car. Sergio Perez and Liam Lawson failed to match the four-time champion’s performance.
Tsunoda has fallen into the same traps so far in his tenure at the Red Bull team, but the team is hoping that he turns things around.
British Grand Prix Qualifying Results
- Max Verstappen – Red Bull
- Oscar Piastri – McLaren
- Lando Norris – McLaren
- George Russell – Mercedes
- Lewis Hamilton – Ferrari
- Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
- Kimi Antonelli – Mercedes
- Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin
- Pierre Gasly – Alpine
- Carlos Sainz – Williams
- Yuki Tsunoda – Red Bull
- Isack Hadjar – Racing Bulls
- Alex Albon – Williams
- Esteban Ocon – Haas
- Liam Lawson – Racing Bulls
- Gabriel Bortoleto – Sauber
- Lance Stroll – Aston Martin
- Ollie Bearman – Haas
- Nico Hulkenberg – Sauber
- Franco Colapinto – Alpine
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