The curse of the second Red Bull seat? Yuki Tsunoda recorded the twentieth time in the qualifying for the Spanish GP – not even close to teammate Max Verstappen. After some issues with Franco Colapinto exiting the pit lane, the Japanese driver had only one chance to qualify for Q2. However, due to a ‘lack of pace’, Tsunoda drove the slowest time of the session.
“It’s tough,” a defeated Tsunoda sighed to F1TV. “I’ve done my best throughout the week to fix the current issues.” During the last GP in Monaco, the 25-year-old driver stranded in the second qualifying session. In the race, he fell back to seventeenth place. “Unfortunately, I already realized during the first free practice that something strange was going on,” he explained in Spain. “I simply had zero grip. We did our best to solve that, but we failed.”
‘Masking Problems’
“Every time we try to adjust the setup, it feels like we’re somewhat masking the problems,” Tsunoda continued critically. “It’s never a clear step in the right direction.” The Red Bull driver has often explained that he struggles with the unpredictable RB21. Compared to the Racing Bulls cars he is used to, he finds it hard to push the limits.
“It’s not like I made mistakes today or anything like that,” Tsunoda reflected on his qualification. “The lap was quite okay. But with the pace I had, even with three sets of fresh tires, I couldn’t have achieved anything. That’s just incredibly hard to accept.” The question is whether Tsunoda will manage to score points in Barcelona. During the Emilia-Romagna GP, he started at the back – after a hefty crash in the qualifying – and eventually scored one World Championship point on behalf of the Austrians.”
