Former world champion Jacques Villeneuve considers Yuki Tsunoda to be the worst teammate Max Verstappen has ever had. The Dutchman has gone through several teammates during his time at Red Bull, but according to the Canadian, the team has reached a new low with the Japanese driver. Villeneuve would like to see Verstappen paired with a proven race winner.
Yuki Tsunoda has been struggling since he was promoted to the main team during the GP of Japan. The 25-year-old driver replaced the struggling Liam Lawson, but failed to make much of an impression himself. Tsunoda only finished in the points three times and did not get further than ninth place. In a conversation with Vision4Sport, former champion Jacques Villeneuve criticized both Tsunoda and all other drivers who pale in comparison to Verstappen.
Verstappen’s Worst Teammate
“Tsunoda is probably Max’s worst teammate so far,” he said. “Many people say it’s unfair that the car is built for Max. But Max might be the only one who really gives the team useful feedback. Then it makes sense that the car is developed in such a way that he gets the most benefit from it. It’s not as if they deliberately make it harder for the second driver,” Villeneuve said, referring to Tsunoda.”
“The problem is that there are few drivers like Verstappen,” he continued. “If you look at the past, there were several drivers at his level. In addition, there were a number of good drivers and some mid-level ones. Nowadays, there are many good drivers, but Max really stands out. That makes it difficult to place someone next to him. They all seem competitive among themselves – until you put them next to Max. Then you think: ‘Maybe they’re not as good as we thought’.”
Established Names
Villeneuve believes it’s time to put an established name next to Verstappen; according to him, Tsunoda should be replaced by someone like Charles Leclerc or Fernando Alonso. “It would be interesting to see Leclerc next to Max, to see how good he really is,” suggested the six-time Grand Prix winner. “Or Alonso, because he is a proven great. And what about Lando Norris? Then we can see if he is truly exceptional, or just very good. It would help to better gauge the level in the driver field. We know that Max is exceptional, but his teammates have not been. There’s no point in saying: ‘Oh, poor souls.’ No, they just weren’t good enough.”
Finally, Villeneuve emphasized that Tsunoda does not deserve sympathy. “Yuki has already had four or five years of experience,” he explained. “He had his chance, but it clearly wasn’t good enough. He got the opportunity to drive for a top team, but he didn’t perform. It’s as simple as that. You don’t need to feel sorry for him. He knows that he is currently not fast enough, and that frustrates him – which only puts more pressure on his performance.”
