Yuki Tsunoda admitted that he saw solace in Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen also struggling as he was eliminated in Q2 at Formula 1‘s Mexico City Grand Prix.
Tsunoda missed out on a spot in Q3 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez as he ended up 11th fastest in the second session, 0.012 seconds behind Isack Hadjar.
But Tsunoda was a little over two tenths behind Verstappen, whose recent resurgence appears to have come to an end in Mexico as he could not do better than fifth.
Despite this being his third consecutive failure to make Q3, Tsunoda acknowledged that the team’s broader challenges over the weekend contributed to his early exit.
“Yeah, you know, like, this time I was quite close to Max consistently throughout the qualifying,” Tsunoda told media including Motorsport Week.
“I just, I was two-tenths off from Max. Normally, in a normal situation, probably I would be in Q3, but as a team we struggled a little bit with pace until Q2 at least so far.
“I think Max and I struggled with the same thing.
“He was struggling with the grip, same as me, especially with mechanical grip. It’s very soft, and with this kind of situation, it’s very sensitive to warm-up as well.”
Tsunoda fighting to save Red Bull future
Tsunoda will start inside the top 10 due to Carlos Sainz’s grid drop, a boost that he will need to convert into points as he battles to preserve his position in the sport.
Red Bull is still to reveal who will partner Verstappen next season, while satellite squad Racing Bulls has also not announced the driver line-up that it will run in 2026.
When asked about Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies’ suggestion that he could be handed more time to prove his worth, the Japanese driver was unsure how to respond.
“I don’t know if it’s happier or not, to be honest. But I just keep performing. I mean, I think I’m starting P10, so I’ll take it,” he concluded.
READ MORE – Why Yuki Tsunoda apologised to Racing Bulls after F1 US GP
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