Yuki Tsunoda reflects on a frustrating weekend in Las Vegas. The Japanese driver had qualified nineteenth, but started Saturday evening from the pit lane following an engine change. Ultimately, he crossed the finish line in twelfth place. Despite this, he sees signs of progress in his performance. According to Tsunoda, his performance in Las Vegas does not reflect the progress he has made. Nevertheless, his future at Red Bull remains uncertain.
Prior to the qualification, the weekend seemed promising for Tsunoda. In the first practice session (VT1), he clocked the third fastest time, nearly a tenth faster than teammate Max Verstappen. “Several times – in VT1, VT2, and VT3 – I was ahead of Max in the fast laps,” he commented after the race. “We haven’t seen that for a long time. Of course, his strength is that he can elevate the car to a higher level during qualification. But during this qualification, I also had the confidence that I could perform better.” However, Tsunoda was caught off guard by the wet conditions; with the wrong tire pressure, he was eliminated in the first qualifying session (Q1).
‘The Results Do Not Reflect My Pace’
The Japanese driver acknowledged that the weekend ended disappointingly, but preferred to look ahead to the next round in Qatar. “People have probably noticed that I’m making progress, but of course, the team and I are aiming for tangible results,” said Yuki Tsunoda. “We can’t keep pointing to that mistake in the qualifiers. We simply have to redeem ourselves in Qatar.” During the race, he was unlucky that his early pit stop did not coincide with the virtual safety car. “It was deployed right after my pit stop, which is absolutely not ideal. Then I got stuck in the dirty air because everyone else was pitting.” Tsunoda concluded that he had simply been very unlucky: “It feels like everything is going against me.”
However, he also sees progress. “I think the pace I’ve shown was good; the qualifiers were just a missed opportunity in that regard. Things are definitely moving in the right direction, but it’s frustrating that the results do not reflect that.” Tsunoda has two more Grands Prix to prove himself to the Red Bull team management; the 25-year-old driver does not yet have a contract for 2026. There are whispers in the paddock that Isack Hadjar could take his seat next year, making Tsunoda’s future in Formula 1 far from certain.
