Former champion Jacques Villeneuve believes that Yuki Tsunoda should be concerned about his seat at Red Bull. The Canadian is impressed with Racing Bulls’ rookie Isack Hadjar. The latter regularly shows promise for the junior team, making him a natural candidate for promotion. Tsunoda has never been a favorite of the team management, and his results are still pending.
After just two Grand Prix, Yuki Tsunoda inherited Liam Lawson’s seat in time for his home race in Japan. Since then, he has performed better than his former teammate, although he is still not on par with Max Verstappen. He finished in the points twice, but also had a costly retirement during the Saudi Arabian GP. Meanwhile, Racing Bulls’ rookie Isack Hadjar is in top form. The 20-year-old Frenchman has scored five points and is the driving force behind the junior team this season.
Jacques Villeneuve warns that Tsunoda will feel the pressure from Hadjar if he continues to perform so well. “I am very impressed (with Hadjar),” the former champion responded to Sky Sports. “Melbourne could have been a very tough, psychological blow, but he managed to hold his own.” Hadjar crashed during the season opener in Australia already in the formation lap – not the debut he had hoped for.
‘Red Bull didn’t actually want Tsunoda’
“He wasn’t too upset in the race afterwards, and he seems to be working well with the team,” the former driver noted. “In addition, I think Hadjar understands the car well, which allows him to place it in a window where he can drive well with it. Sometimes I think he outperforms the car and can be quite aggressive. If I were Tsunoda, I would be worried now,” Villeneuve warned.”Remember that Tsunoda is only at Red Bull because of Honda,” Villeneuve added. “Last year, he wasn’t even offered a contract because they simply didn’t want him. When Liam Lawson didn’t meet the requirements, they naturally had no choice. They were, after all, afraid that Hadjar was still too young. But now he has shown that he might be ready.” In the final free practice for the Emilia-Romagna GP, Hadjar clocked the seventh time, while Tsunoda finished seventeenth.
Former champion Jacques Villeneuve warns that Yuki Tsunoda should fear for his seat at Red Bull.
