Yuki Tsunoda denies that he is partly responsible for Max Verstappen‘s dramatic qualification in São Paulo. The Japanese driver states that Red Bull sacrificed his sprint race to test a new set-up, but emphasizes that the adjustments made afterwards were not the cause of his teammate’s problems. Verstappen could not get further than the sixteenth time and therefore had to leave the battlefield already in Q1.
Red Bull completely missed the mark with the setup of the RB21, causing both drivers to be eliminated in Q1 – an absolute low point for the Austrian racing team. The last time two Red Bull cars stranded in the first qualifying round was in 2006. Yuki Tsunoda served as a guinea pig during the sprint race preceding the qualification; he had to start from the pit lane because the team had made various changes to the setup of his RB21. The same adjustments were later applied to Verstappen’s car, but clearly backfired.
‘We also made progress’
After the qualification, Tsunoda was asked about the changes. “Well, some things we adjusted for the sprint race gave us a good idea of how we could improve the car – we thought,” he sighed to the media in São Paulo. “I think Max also took over a few things from my setup.” However, Tsunoda pointed out that Verstappen’s problems were not due to his setup. “I don’t want to blame my setup, because I think it was good,” he added. “It was more about making the tires work.”
According to the 25-year-old Japanese, there were even positive signals from his side of the garage. “I think we made good progress with the parts we replaced after the sprint race, and I clearly feel better in the car,” he concluded optimistically. “At the same time, a problem has arisen somewhere, and it seems quite serious. It’s a pity we couldn’t make the most of that opportunity.” Possibly both Verstappen and Tsunoda will start from the pit lane on Sunday. Red Bull is considering taking the RB21 back to the drawing board.
