Former world champion Jacques Villeneuve has leveled harsh criticism at Red Bull, accusing them of ‘overprotecting’ Yuki Tsunoda after yet another disappointing race weekend. The Japanese teammate of Max Verstappen finished outside the top ten during the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday, after a twelve-second pit stop completely derailed his race.
Despite the poor result, team boss Laurent Mekies described Tsunoda’s performance as his “best in a long time”. A statement that leaves Villeneuve baffled.
Jacques Villeneuve, on the Sky F1 podcast: “I don’t understand how a team can say that. Tsunoda is still far behind his teammate. He brings nothing in terms of speed, points for the team, or assistance to Max in the championship. And he has a lot of experience. We’ve already seen the best of him, he’s on a downward trajectory. It seems like they’re overprotecting him for some reason.”
‘Tsunoda’s Least Bad Weekend’
The Canadian leaves no doubt about what he thought of Tsunoda’s weekend: “No, you can’t say it was a good weekend. Maybe it was his least bad, but it wasn’t a good weekend.”
Tsunoda’s future within the Red Bull organization is uncertain. The racing team is expected to decide on the allocation of the three remaining seats only after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The Japanese driver risks losing his spot to Isack Hadjar, who has impressed this season at Racing Bulls.
Villeneuve warns that experience should not be the deciding factor. “We often talk about situations like this. You need experience, that’s true, but you need good experience. It doesn’t matter if a driver has twenty years of experience. If he wasn’t good enough, he still won’t be. He won’t help you understand the new regulations or develop and test the car,” says Villeneuve. “So why would you keep someone you already know isn’t good enough? In that case, you’re better off choosing a young rookie or an outsider, someone who brings new energy and a fresh way of thinking to the team. What you have now, you know: it’s not enough.”
