Max Verstappen has defended his teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who is under pressure in Barcelona after failing to qualify beyond the last place. According to Verstappen, this indicates an issue with the RB21 rather than with his teammate, but advisor Helmut Marko is much harsher on Tsunoda.
The contrast between teammates Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda could hardly have been greater during the qualifying round in Barcelona. While the Dutchman managed to qualify for the second starting row, the Japanese driver secured the last starting spot on the grid. Tsunoda will start the race in Spain from the pit lane, after Red Bull decided to give the driver a new rear wing, the same as Verstappen’s.
However, Verstappen defends his teammate’s performance. The driver believes that Tsunoda’s struggles with the RB21 are more due to the car than to Tsunoda himself. “He’s not a pushover,” Verstappen tells the Dutch media. “He has proven that in the past. He was often faster than Liam Lawson, so this probably says a lot about the car. What exactly? You can figure that out for yourselves.”
Marko is harsher on Tsunoda
In the meantime, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko is somewhat harsher on the newest Red Bull driver. “There certainly need to be question marks over his last place (in qualifying), even though Yuki is not driving the latest specification of the car,” the Austrian explains. “The floor and some other parts are different from Max’s. But he himself ruined them in Imola!”
The Japanese driver crashed during the qualifying session of the GP Emilia-Romagna, and subsequently did not finish higher than tenth place during the race. “It seems that Yuki cannot improve in qualifying,” Marko continues. “His results are disappointing. We need to analyze everything.”
