Pierre Gasly has delivered a cryptic take on Yuki Tsunoda‘s current problems at Formula 1 giants Red Bull, saying he knows “some stuff that can’t be said”.
The Japanese driver has endured a torrid season at the Milton Keynes-based squad, having taken the place of Liam Lawson after two Grands Prix.
Tsunoda has struggled to get close to team-mate Max Verstappen in the RB21, scoring just seven points in 12 races.
Furthermore, his 17th-place finish in Hungary saw him set the unwanted record of having the longest points-less run of any driver in Red Bull’s 20-year history.
Gasly experienced his own problems at the team, having been signed up to partner Verstappen in 2019, before being sent back to junior squad Toro Rosso before the end of the year.
Speaking to RacingNews365, Gasly talked of the problems his former AlphaTauri team-mate Tsunoda was having, making his enigmatic statement.
“What’s tricky is my time, a lot of things can’t be said, because you’re a driver, you’re working for a team, and as a professional, you can’t share all the information on the specific situations,” the Frenchman said.
“Talking with Yuki, I know some stuff that can’t be said, and it’s not easy. It’s not easy to be in this situation.
“You try to do what’s best for the team, and sometimes you get given something to make it work, and sometimes you’re in a situation where, for different reasons, it can’t quite work the way you like.”
Gasly offers Tsunoda advice to make Red Bull turnaround
Tsunoda’s future, at least in the short term, looks secure, with Helmut Marko having previously intimated the 25-year-old will last to the end of the current campaign.
But the Austrian has recently revealed that it is during the summer break – into which F1 has just entered – where the team usually evaluates its second drivers.
This is the point where Gasly lost his drive, and was swapped in favour of Alex Albon, triggering what many have felt since to be its cursed second seat alongside Verstappen.
The Alpine driver has stated that he is in communication with Tsunoda on a friendly basis to offer advice in the hope that he can remedy his current woe.
“So, knowing from experience, I just try to chat as a friend and just advise on stuff that may help him,” Gasly added.
“And I think ultimately, it’s up to him and the team to make it work and do the right things for it to work.”
READ MORE – Max Verstappen debunks long-standing Red Bull F1 theory
Discussion about this post