Yuki Tsunoda was knocked out in qualifying for the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix, facing a harsh reality check when compared to his Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen.
Despite sharing the same RB21 car, Tsunoda admitted he’s still struggling to adapt to the car’s narrow operating window – a challenge Verstappen appears to manage with ease.
Tsunoda was just 0.263 seconds off the Dutchman’s best Q1 time – the closest gap between the two all season; however, it was set on the shortest lap of the calendar.
Yet despite the narrow margin, it wasn’t enough to secure his progression into Q2 at the Red Bull Ring, resulting in a disappointing exit in front of the team’s home crowd.
In his first four races with Red Bull, Tsunoda made three Q3 appearances before a downturn began at Imola, where he crashed out in Q1.
Since then, he has yet to return to the final qualifying session and suffered his third Q1 exit in Austria.
After the session, the 25-year-old highlighted issues with the RB21’s balance that hampered his qualifying performance.
However, while his team-mate faced similar challenges, Tsunoda delivered a sobering assessment compared to the reigning World Champion.
“Max was reporting the same in Q2, but at least he knows this car, how to handle it, and even with the surprises, he can adapt within the lap,” Tsunoda told media including Motorsport Week.
“But I’m not yet at the level where I can fully adjust in the lap or maximise the package. It’s not the level I had with VCARB (Racing Bulls).”
When pressed further, Tsunoda confirmed this year’s Red Bull car has the narrowest operating window of any car he has driven.
“I would say it’s a difficult car, but it’s not undriveable,” he added.
RB21’s fickle balance continues to test Tsunoda
Continuing to voice his frustration with qualifying, Tsunoda pinpointed the challenges of adapting to the RB21’s fickle balance between laps.
“It is very frustrating, I was just not able to properly adjust on the second push lap,” he explained.
“The first one felt good, and there is obviously always a perfect lap, so I could have done better, but the balance felt completely different between the first and second push laps.”
Reflecting on his overall qualifying performance, he stated: “I’m just not able to put it all together in qualifying.
“It’s not all the time, but I am just not able to execute properly in qualifying for several reasons, which is frustrating.”
Despite the setbacks, he remains optimistic about his progress: “I was expecting to be in Q3, the car felt good and the first push lap felt good.
“But somehow, with this stage that I am in, I’m happy with the confidence and I’m sure I’m heading in the right direction.
“But with this very narrow window with the car, you just have to be as consistent as possible.”
READ MORE – How Yuki Tsunoda is trying to avoid what hurt his Red Bull predecessors
