Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies has delivered a scathing rebuke of Yuki Tsunoda after another below-par performance in the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix.
Tsunoda continued his poor run of form in Singapore, finishing a lowly 12th, while team-mate Max Verstappen finished runner-up to winner George Russell.
The weekend began with promise, Tsunoda finding pace to finish inside the top 10 in FP1 and FP2, within half a second of Verstappen in the morning before tailing off.
Saturday, however, derailed immediately, his lack of pace seeing him 1.2 seconds adrift of his team-mate in 18th, qualifying a lowly 13th, piling further pressure on his future.
Speaking to media after the race, including Motorsport Week, Mekies did not mince his words when criticising Tsunoda’s performance on Saturday in Singapore.
“It was not a good Saturday for Yuki,” Mekies said.
“I think honestly, on Friday, personally, I was satisfied with the work he has done.
“It was not looking spectacular on page one, but looking at every single lap, I think it was at the right level on Friday.
“Then Saturday was poor, we need to work with him to understand what derailed it.”
Tsuonda fails to rescue a poor weekend in Singapore
Mekies was far from happy with Tsunoda’s race, after a problematic first lap saw him drop from 13th to 18th, confirming his displeasure at the loss of potential points.
He eventually finished 12th, suffering the indignity of being lapped by his team-mate.
“The first lap was certainly shocking, but from that point onward, I think he has done a very decent race,” he added.
“He came back from P18 to P12 or P11, with a very decent pace.
“So we had a very poor Saturday, it’s costing us the weekend and a few points, and we’ll work with him to improve together.”
Heading into this weekend’s United States Grand Prix, Tsuonda lies a distant 18th in the standings, with only 20 points to his name.
READ MORE – Yuki Tsunoda urged to admit ‘he’s not good enough’ at Red Bull
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