Yuki Tsunoda asserts that his gap to Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen is steadily decreasing. Despite reflecting on a disappointing Hungarian Grand Prix, the Japanese driver sees his overall speed increasing. Moreover, he drove in Budapest with car damage, as Tsunoda revealed afterwards. The 25-year-old driver consequently finished only seventeenth.
Tsunoda has not scored any World Championship points in seven consecutive Grands Prix. Admittedly, Max Verstappen also had a disastrous weekend; the reigning world champion did not get further than ninth place. “We knew it would be difficult to finish in the points, and once I had damage to the front wing, our race was essentially over,” Tsunoda explained afterwards.
“It cost us a lot of speed and reduced the grip, so we could no longer follow a strategy that would benefit us,” he elaborated. And that was not the only thing that troubled him. The Red Bull driver hinted again at miscommunication within the team. “That’s happened in the last two races, so it’s starting to get quite frustrating,” he sighed. “We really need to work on that in the second half of the season.”
The Gap to Max is Shrinking
Despite the need for improvements, Tsunoda also sees glimmers of hope heading into the summer break. Since his RB21 has been equipped with an upgraded floor, he has noticed an improvement in his speed. “Looking back on the season so far, I’m actually quite positive,” he said. “We have made progress, especially since the new floor updates. The gap to Max Verstappen is getting smaller. It may not feel like it, but on paper, it’s only a tenth. I’m not sure many other drivers could match that.”
“This week I’m going straight to the factory to test in the simulator,” he continued determinedly. “We need to figure out where things went wrong. During the summer break, we’re going to work hard so we can start the second half of the season better than we ended the first. It’s frustrating, but we remain positive and will come back stronger.” Yuki Tsunoda has scored ten World Championship points this season – three for Racing Bulls and seven since his move to Red Bull. For comparison, Verstappen has collected 151 points in the same period.
