Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko hinted that Yuki Tsunoda has shown signs he can operate at the desired level to retain his place with the team in Formula 1 past 2025.
Having replaced Liam Lawson two races into the campaign, Tsunoda has been granted the remaining events to stake his claim to the seat alongside Max Verstappen.
Lawson had been tasked with remaining inside a three-tenth range of Verstappen, but the Kiwi’s slump to consecutive Q1 eliminations prompted Red Bull to intervene.
Tsunoda has been unable to deliver on the initial target laid down to his predecessor, but two Q3 appearances and points in Bahrain have outstripped Lawson’s return.
Indeed, the Japanese driver has shown sporadic promise that he harbours the inherent potential to be the solution to Red Bull’s unrelenting second-driver conundrum.
The past weekend in Saudi Arabia saw Tsunoda lie a respectable distance behind Verstappen until an error in Q3 consigned him to eighth as his team-mate took pole.
Marko, though, has insisted that Tsunoda should start to produce the expected results once he is more accustomed to driving Red Bull’s capricious RB21 on the edge.
“You know, in free practice, when the pressure is not so high, he’s missing two or three tenths,” Marko told Motorsport.com.
“None of the other drivers [were at that level]. In qualifying, he’s a little bit overdriving, but he’s on the way to perform and bring the points we needed.”
Asked what area Tsunoda most needs to improve upon, the Austrian reiterated: “When the pressure is on in qualifying, he has to deliver.”
How Tsunoda contrasts with Verstappen
Tsunoda had suggested heading into the previous round in Jeddah that his gap to Verstappen would be eroded once he was more familiarised with the RB21’s quirks.
“I knew how Max builds throughout the week, builds the confidence throughout the week, compared to how I build the confidence throughout the week,” he said.
“It’s completely different because he already has massive confidence in this car. So I just make it separate and try to nail it down in qualifying.”
And while going up against Verstappen at Red Bull has become renowned as a poisoned chalice, Tsunoda retains the faith that he can beat the reigning F1 champion.
“It’s my first time driving a completely different car,” he highlighted.
“I only drove with VCARB for the last four years, so it’s the first time I drove a completely different team’s car.
“I’m trying to use that, and I know that if I unlock that area, I would be able to probably beat him.
“I know myself that I can’t beat him straight away, so I’m just trying to build a good baseline and wait for the moment that I can be in the shape, yeah.”
READ MORE – Why Yuki Tsunoda thinks he can beat Max Verstappen at Red Bull
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